Allyson Criner Brown

Allyson Criner Brown, MPA, is a seasoned equity practitioner and trainer who has worked at the intersections of pre-K—12 education, family and community engagement, and environmental justice. She has appeared in Education Week, NPR, The Atlantic, ASCD, and ThinkProgress, and served as a presenter and advisor for schools, school districts, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, among other institutions. Allyson fervently believes that the systemic inequities that harm the rights, dignity, and potential of people of color and people with low incomes can be undone. She pursues this ambition through her work in education and environmental justice. Her recent accomplishments include producing the equity narrative and framework, the second edition racial equity impact assessment (REIA), and related trainings for the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment.

Allyson is a co-author of the forthcoming Engagement for Equitable Outcomes: A Practitioner’s Playbook (Rowman & Littlefield, March 2022). Her previous publications include an essay titled “Engaging and Embracing Black Parents” in Teaching When the World is on Fire (The New Press, 2019), edited by MacArthur “genius” fellow Lisa Delpit. She produced the Freedom Reads: Anti-Bias Book Talk mini-series (2020) available on SocialJusticeBooks.org, and is the editor of three Teaching for Change publications: Parent-Principal Chats Manual (2019), Parent Organization Equity & Inclusion Tool (2017), and the second edition of Between Families and Schools: Creating Meaningful Relationships (2016). She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and her master’s degree from the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at The George Washington University. Originally from Oakland, California, she lives in Washington, D.C. with her spouse and two children.