LAVANDA BROWN, M.ED
Meet our executive director
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LaVanda Brown, M.Ed.
YWCA Greater Charleston CEO LaVanda Brown joined YWCA Greater Charleston as February 2016. Her experience, leadership, and passion for serving others span 30+ years. During her decades of on-the-ground experience in social services focused on underserved populations, she has led and advised multiple nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including Family Promise of Greater Savannah, Union Mission, Gang Alternatives of Miami, Clarke Community Services in New Orleans, and others in the behavioral health, employment, and community services arenas. The daughter and granddaughter of civil rights leaders and advocates she was raised to be a passionate advocate for causes including gender equality, diversity, and racial equity. She envisions a world where differences are not just tolerated but celebrated. "The mission of YWCA is one that is very much in line with my personal mission of empowering women and celebrating differences," she says. Her work has garnered awards, including the 2021 Trident Literacy Founder’s Award, the 2018 recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Picture Award for outstanding community service, presented by Charleston Former Mayor John Tecklenburg and South Carolina Rep. Wendell Gilliard, the 2022 Lowcountry Diversity Leadership Awards Ally for the Future Workforce award, was named to Charleston Business magazine’s 2020 and 2021 Top 50 most Influential list and its 2022 Hall of Fame as well as and WCBD’s Lowcountry Remarkable Women 2025. She is a sought-after public speaker who also serves on the leadership council of the Social Justice Racial Equity Collaborative in Charleston, the Board Chair for the Evelyn A. Scott Foundation, and mentors entry, middle and senior level nonprofit and for profit leaders. She has also served as the housing subcommittee chair for the Mayor’s Commission on Homelessness and Affordable Housing. LaVanda holds a dual bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology from Wesleyan College and a master's degree in counseling from Georgia Southern University. Is the proud mother of Ethan Jeremiah and Emmanuel Joseph and grandmother of Canaan Gregory, Summer Reign, and Autumn Knight. |
ON A MISSION
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