Official Bio

Jennifer Brown (she/her/hers) is an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, diversity and inclusion consultant, and author. As the successful founder and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting, headquartered in New York City, Jennifer is responsible for designing workplace strategies that have been implemented by some of the biggest companies and nonprofits in the world. She has harnessed more than 14 years of experience as a world-renowned diversity and inclusion expert through consulting work, keynoting and thought leadership.

Brown discovered her passion for diversity and inclusion work in her twenties when she was forced to abandon her dream of being an opera singer. Raised in a musical family, Jennifer was an exceptional talent. She moved to New York City to pursue her career as a performer and earned a Master’s in Voice from the Manhattan School of Music. During the course of her training, however, Jennifer injured her voice, requiring multiple vocal surgeries that would leave her instrument forever compromised. Performance art had become part of her core identity. Without it, she felt like an outsider, which forced her to evaluate who she was and led to the discovery of a larger purpose in her life. Leaving her dream of operatic performance behind set Jennifer on to a rewarding career path—one that would allow her to still use her voice, but in a different way.

She came out when she was twenty-two years old and struggled to find examples of professionals who she could identify with in the roles she aspired to fill one day. She noticed very few women, and even fewer openly gay professionals, in leadership roles, so for years she downplayed who she was throughout a series of professional roles—from stage performer to HR professional to entrepreneur. Jennifer’s journey eventually gave her the courage to be her most authentic self. She answered the calling to use her experiences and passion for advocacy to help organizations create cultures of belonging where everyone can thrive and contribute to their fullest potential. 

Jennifer went on to receive her Master’s in Organizational Development from Fordham University and, in 2005, she founded Jennifer Brown Consulting. Today, Jennifer and her team advise Fortune 500 companies and many others on how to build more inclusive workplaces which allow all kinds of talent to feel welcomed, valued, respected, and heard. Her workplace strategies have led her to redefine the boundaries of talent potential and company culture, allowing employees to bring their full selves to work. 

Jennifer envisions inclusive organizations where all of us can thrive. As someone who has experienced both the advantages of privilege and the sting of stigma, Jennifer Brown is boldly redefining what it means to truly belong—in the workplace, in our families, and in our communities. A dynamic keynote speaker, internationally sought-after thought leader, and passionate social equality advocate, Jennifer shares her powerful and unforgettable true story with audiences to help us challenge our assumptions—about ourselves, about leaders, and others—and take inspired action today for a more inclusive tomorrow.

An acclaimed keynoter, Jennifer is the bestselling author of Inclusion: Diversity, The New Workplace and The Will to Change  and  How To Be An Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive, a shortlist winner of the O.W.L. Award, winner of the 2019 Nautilus Book Awards’ Business & Leadership category,  and a top SABA 2020 Book Awards Audience Vote. Her popular podcast, The Will to Change, appeared on Feedspot’s Top 15 Diversity And Inclusion Podcasts You Must Follow in 2020, and as Host, Jennifer interviews leading CEOs, bestselling authors, and entrepreneurs about diversity, equity, and inclusion and delivers focused content on how to create organizational change at any level.

Jennifer is a sought-after speaker and expert for leading research institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, as well as multiple business schools, including Kellogg, Columbia Business School, the Owen GSB at Vanderbilt, and University of Wisconsin. She currently serves as Executive in Residence for The University of North Texas’s School of Public Health/MPHA program. Jennifer has spoken at many top conferences and events such as the International Diversity Forum, the Global D&I Summit, the Forum for Workplace Inclusion, the NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference, the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, Emerging Women, SHE Summit, Responsive, the Better Man Conference, INBOUND, ALTSummit, South by Southwest (SXSW), PBWC (Professional BusinessWomen of California), The Pennsylvania Conference for Women and Texas Conference for Women, and HR Transform.

As a successful LGBT entrepreneur, Jennifer has been featured in media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, AdWeek, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Inc., CBS, and many more.

She is the proud recipient of several accolades, having been named a Top Small Business Female Executive award winner, Woman of the Year by Pace University, Social Entrepreneur of the year by the NYC National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), one of the Top 40 Outstanding Women by Stonewall Community Foundation, and NYC Controller Bill Thompson’s LGBT Business Owner of the Year. She has also been a finalist for both the Wells Fargo Business Owner of the Year Award and for the Ernst & Young’s Winning Women Program. DataBird Business Journal named Jennifer a Top Small Business Female Executive in 2019.  

Jennifer lives in New York City with her partner, Michelle and a few furry family members. When she is not keynoting or meeting with clients, Jennifer enjoys yoga, jazz, and clearing pastures at Catskill Animal Sanctuary.  She is a proud aunt to twelve nieces and nephews and enjoys spending time with family on both coasts.