Rev. Dr. Karen V. Brown is pastor of Hope Presbyterian Church in Arbutus, MD.
Rev. Brown received her bachelor’s degree from Towson University, a Master of Divinity from Union Seminary in Richmond, and a Doctorate in Metro Urban Ministry from New Brunswick Theological Seminary.
Rev. Brown served as the Associate Pastor of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church from 1994 to 2005. Rev. Brown simultaneously served as the Executive Director of the Madison Avenue Family Life Center which provided serviced to 150 children, youth, and adults daily with an operating budget of 3 million dollars for 15 years.
Rev. Brown has served on the National Black Presbyterian Caucus for over eight years in several positions including Vice President, started the African American Clergy Women’s Caucus in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. upon the 25th Anniversary of Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, and currently serves on the National Self-Development of People Committee. She served as the Resource Developer for Intersection of Change, a non-profit located within the epicenter of the civil unrest in Baltimore City in April of 2015 for nine years.
Rev. Brown is a community organizer and servant leader. She has completed several Leadership Development Programs to include Open Society Institute, Kaiser Permanente Leadership Program, and Associated Black Charities Leadership Program. Additionally, she served as a board member for the selection committee for John Hopkins Urban Institute’s Bunting Neighborhood Leadership Program. She has traveled nationally conducting workshops on the successful youth programming she founded named Umoja Children – Youth from the Hood Working for Good – 1994-1998. The youth sold 50,000 Christmas and Kwanza in eight weeks and shared $150,000 in sales.
Ms. Brown works full-time as the Assistant Director of the Family Support Division of Maryland Family Network. Rev. Brown’s current role is to support organizations in MD seeking to be awarded funding thru MFN to operate a Family Support Center. Ms. Brown works with these organizations as they navigate, build infrastructure, fiscal management, accrual base accounting, non-profit status, and sustainability plans.