Fred Brown is President & CEO of The Forbes Funds, a philanthropic organization focused on strengthening the management capacity and impact of community nonprofits in the Pittsburgh area. Prior to that time, Mr. Brown served as the President & CEO of the Homewood Children’s Village, a non-profit that takes a multi-generational approach to improve quality of life in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood; previously he worked for the Kingsley Association developing green/sustainable communities through holistic visioning, resident capacity building, community empowerment, micro/macro planning, and sustainable redevelopment implementation. 

Mr. Brown has been a climate justice trainer, environmental justice leader, policy analyst, adjunct professor, dean of students, teacher, coach, mentor, certified Juvenile Justice Judge’s trainer (TOT), certified conflict mediation and resolution trainer (TOT), master consultant, supervisor, director, and executive director of non-profit organizations since 1987. Mr. Brown has continued to invest his time, energies, and expertise in assisting a variety of communities and organizations to develop new and innovative programs that seek to empower at-risk populations. In addition to working in the aforementioned areas, Mr. Brown is actively involved in other aspects of professional development including Dean of students, school teacher, adjunct professor, and project manager. A specific focus of Mr. Brown’s work includes working with African American males to reduce minority dropout rates in post-secondary environments and bridging the divide between minority communities and their knowledge regarding energy reduction planning, carbon footprint analysis, and environmental justice leadership.

Mr. Brown has helped to rewrite public policy through the Transportation Equity Network (WIN) that revised federal guidelines regarding public participation and transportation equity. He recently helped design a web-based environmental/energy reduction tool that teaches community residents how to strategically and pragmatically reduce their energy use through weatherization efforts, retrofits, alternative energy practices, and monitoring energy use; creating models for green sustainable communities-via the Imagine Larimer Software and the use of SMART Board technology. A frequent speaker, trainer, coach, mentor, and consultant; Mr. Brown has a BS in Education from the Indiana University of PA, MSW from the University of Pittsburgh, and was a doctoral candidate working on a Ph.D. in SW and a MPH from the University of Pittsburgh.