Crystal Brown

Crystal Brown, a seasoned communications leader, currently serves as the vice president and chief communications officer for Howard University. She has spent the greater part of her career leading award-winning communications campaigns for some of the nation’s leading education-focused corporations, non-profit organizations, and foundations. As vice president for communications at National Geographic, Brown oversees marketing, brand, media relations, crisis communications, and reputation management. Serving as a member of the President’s Cabinet, she advises senior university leadership on a wide range of internal and external communication matters.

Prior to her current post, Brown served as chief communications officer for the University of Maryland. In this role she had responsibility for the central communications office, served as spokesperson for the university, and developed strategic communications initiatives to advance the reputation of the university locally, nationally, and internationally.

Brown has also previously held leadership positions at Widmeyer Communications and E-Luminate Group PR. During her years of service as a communications consultant she specialized in education technology and helped raise the national profile of many companies and advocacy organizations including Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Dell, LeapFrog, Blackboard, and the NEA.

Brown is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Rhetoric and Communications Skills. She currently serves as immediate past chair of the Board of Directors for the National Education Association Foundation and is a member of the Advisory Board for DreamBox Learning.