Val Brown serves as director of the Future of Learning portfolio at the Carnegie Foundation. As director, Val harnesses her expertise in facilitation and partnership development to catalyze transformation specifically around the creation of post Carnegie-unit ecosystems. In this work, Val is intent on reimagining the roles of educators to design and implement competency-based and skill-based teaching, learning, and leadership practices to improve engagement, belonging, and attainment for underrepresented students. Before joining Carnegie, Val worked in roles that centered educator professional learning around instructional practice and equity, including co-authoring a framework for antiracist education. 

As an educator with 20 years of experience as a teacher, central office administrator, and leader in higher education institutions and education non-profits, Val is passionate about advancing the national conversation about the power of equity in education. In 2013, she was named Seminole County, FL Teacher of the Year and was recognized by the White House Initiative of Educational Excellence for African Americans in 2015. Val is the founder of #ClearTheAir, an online international collective of educators, who believe that community, learning and dialogue are essential to personal and professional development. She is also the current co-host of the Integrated Schools podcast and is a columnist for Learning Forwards’s journal, The Learning Professional. Val is an active presenter at conferences and convenings across the country. Val earned her doctorate (Ed.D.) from the University of Florida with an emphasis in professional learning for educators. 

Val is an avid walker, independent bookstore enthusiast, enjoys Broadway musicals and is passionate about building community across differences.