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Austin Channing Brown

2022 Speaker

AUSTIN CHANNING BROWN is a speaker, writer, and media producer providing inspired leadership on racial justice in America. She is the author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness and the executive producer of web series The Next Question.Her workshops and lectures are incisive, fun, disarming, and transformative. By using an intentional mix of humor, pop-culture, story-telling, and audience engagement, she awakens people to the current realities of systemic racism and the everyday actions which allow racism to thrive. Channing Brown evokes thought, feeling, and action as she celebrates Blackness and the possibility of justice in our organizations and communities. Her book shot to the top 20 of Amazon’s bestsellers list, leading in its categories for months. I’m Still Here has received acclaim from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and more. As a media producer, Channing Brown creates content that centers the experiences of Black women, dismantling the foundations of white supremacy. Her nationally-celebrated first season of The Next Question included Macarthur Genius, Nikole Hannah-Jones, NYT bestselling authors Brene Brown, and Jasmine Guillory, and more. Alongside her cocreators Chi Chi Okwuand and Jenny Booth Potter, the hosts examine complex topics affecting social justice while simultaneously celebrating the humanity of their guests. Austin has a BA in business management from North Park University as well as an MA in social justice from Marygrove College in Detroit. Channing Brown’s professional career began in the non-profit sector including homelessness/housing, youth engagement, fund development, and church operations.