Consuella Brown joined the Woods Fund of Chicago staff as the Program Director in September 2006. Prior to Woods, Consuella spent 5 years as a Program Offi cer at the Grand Victoria Foundation. As a Program Offi cer, Consuella designed and developed a $2.7 million workforce development initiative that aimed to increase the economic self-suffi ciency of low-wage/low-skill incumbent workers in central Illinois. She also served as co-chair of the Chicago-area Affordable Housing Funders Group and Grantmakers Concerned with Poverty.

Her philanthropic experience is further enhanced by several years with the Peace Corps, fi rst as a volunteer in the Marshall Islands and Lesotho and then as a staff member in Swaziland and the Gambia. As an Associate Director for Administration, she helped establish the fi rst Peace Corps program in the Republic of Zambia. In the late 1990s, Consuella completed her tour with the Peace Corps and joined the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs as the County Director in Malawi. In this capacity, Consuella worked closely with members of parliament, political parties, and targeted segments of Malawi’s civil society to encourage more transparency within the legislative process.

Returning to the U.S. in 1997, Consuella served as a community development fellow at the Chicago Housing Authority, directing most of her attention to employment and family self-suffi ciency strategies. Prior to joining Grand Victoria Foundation, Consuella organized an effort through Duke University’s Center for International Studies to build intellectual and social capital amongst Africanists in the Triangle Area in North Carolina.

A native of Los Angeles, Consuella holds a master’s degree in political science from Illinois State University and a bachelor’s degree in legal studies/women’s studies from Scripps College. Consuella recently completed a two-year spiritual director certifi cate program at the Institute for Spiritual Leadership in Hyde Park.

Consuella Brown joined the Woods Fund of Chicago staff as the Program Director in September 2006. Prior to Woods, Consuella spent 5 years as a Program Offi cer at the Grand Victoria Foundation. As a Program Offi cer, Consuella designed and developed a $2.7 million workforce development initiative that aimed to increase the economic self-suffi ciency of low-wage/low-skill incumbent workers in central Illinois. She also served as co-chair of the Chicago-area Affordable Housing Funders Group and Grantmakers Concerned with Poverty.

Her philanthropic experience is further enhanced by several years with the Peace Corps, fi rst as a volunteer in the Marshall Islands and Lesotho and then as a staff member in Swaziland and the Gambia. As an Associate Director for Administration, she helped establish the fi rst Peace Corps program in the Republic of Zambia. In the late 1990s, Consuella completed her tour with the Peace Corps and joined the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs as the County Director in Malawi. In this capacity, Consuella worked closely with members of parliament, political parties, and targeted segments of Malawi’s civil society to encourage more transparency within the legislative process.

Returning to the U.S. in 1997, Consuella served as a community development fellow at the Chicago Housing Authority, directing most of her attention to employment and family self-suffi ciency strategies. Prior to joining Grand Victoria Foundation, Consuella organized an effort through Duke University’s Center for International Studies to build intellectual and social capital amongst Africanists in the Triangle Area in North Carolina.

A native of Los Angeles, Consuella holds a master’s degree in political science from Illinois State University and a bachelor’s degree in legal studies/women’s studies from Scripps College. Consuella recently completed a two-year spiritual director certifi cate program at the Institute for Spiritual Leadership in Hyde Park.