Sharlene Brown is Senior Fellow at Croatan Institute and director of the Institute’s initiative on Racial Equity, Economics, Finance, and Sustainability (REEFS).

Ms. Brown was previously the executive director of the Partnership for Responsible Financial Inclusion (PRFI), where she managed the strategic priorities of the member organizations and coordinated its working groups. Prior to that, she served as national director of Oikocredit-USA, where she raised investment capital and provided development education on microfinance and social performance to investors with more than US$35 million in assets. Ms. Brown also worked with the Grameen Foundation, a member of the Partnership for Responsible Financial Inclusion, as a senior program officer for their Social Performance Management Center, where she oversaw projects for microfinance institutions in sub-Saharan Africa and Middle- East/North Africa. She has also worked in the socially responsible investment marketplace as a business development manager for Domini Social Investments, and as research associate for the Social Investment Forum.

Ms. Brown’s immigrant roots inspire her to be of service to others. She has served on the Board of Directors of Women Advancing Microfinance (WAM) International, a global network that supports women working in microfinance and microenterprise development through education and training. Currently, Ms. Brown volunteers as a financial coach to low-income individuals, striving to improve their financial well-being through programs sponsored by Children’s First Institute and United Way’s Financial Stability Initiative. Ms. Brown shares what drives her passion for financial inclusion and coaching in the podcast She’s Got Drive.

Ms. Brown resides in North Port, Florida.