During the pandemic, an image went viral: two young girls sitting outside an East Salinas Taco Bell, doing their homework on borrowed Wi-Fi.

“That image haunted me,” says Brown, a partner at F3 Law in Oakland and a CASBO associate member. “A student struggling with access, the poverty experience, that drive to be better – that’s what drives me.”

Known for her depth of knowledge in collective bargaining, Brown has built her career around expanding opportunities for students, while helping California’s public schools navigate the complexities of modern learning. “I’ve always believed education is the great equalizer,” she says. “My work is about removing obstacles so every student can have that chance.”

That conviction is rooted in a global childhood that shaped her sense of justice and purpose. Born in India and raised in Nairobi and London, she grew up watching students her age drop out of school after third grade.

“I come from a lens where public education is not guaranteed,” she says. “Education for all is my vision, and that’s the problem I’m always solving for.”

Initially headed toward medical school, Brown pivoted after a civil rights class lit a spark. “It was the first time I saw how law could shape policy and people’s lives,” she says.

From there, she built a law career spanning over 25 years, beginning in Atlanta as a city attorney focused on civil rights and employment issues before joining a national education law firm with a strong California presence and finding “the perfect confluence” of her passions – public policy, administration and education.

Over the next two decades, Brown became a trailblazer in education law. She co-founded F3 Law’s eMatters practice group, one of the first dedicated education technology legal practices in the country.

“In the early 2000s, I was negotiating whether email could be part of a teacher’s workday,” she recalls. “Now we’re working with county offices of education to be on the forefront of ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence. Technology is the biggest change agent in California, in U.S. schools and in the civil rights world today.”

At the collective bargaining table, Brown’s willingness to look outside the box for solutions has made her a sought-after partner for school districts navigating the rapidly evolving digital landscape. Her work as a CASBO presenter and adviser for more than 20 years has focused on helping school business officials present budgets transparently, build trust with unions and balance fiscal realities with shared purpose.

“One of the most difficult aspects of a CBO’s job is to build trust with the union so that they have faith in the numbers and budgets that the CBO presents,” says Brown, whose goal is always to help both sides see they’re working toward the same mission – supporting students.

She credits much of her career success to her bold, collaborative approach to leadership.

“My approach to collective bargaining – particularly when it comes to technology – is grounded in the belief that decision-making sometimes must be iterative,” she explains. “Technology evolves rapidly, so we need to act based on the best information available at the moment to keep our schools moving forward. That means some decisions will need to be revisited and adjusted as the landscape changes. In the end, it helps ensure the best outcomes for students.”