Charlie Brown

Charlie founded Context Partners in April 2010 with the explicit goal of supporting organizations’ ability to build purpose-driven and high-impact relationships with their communities. He brings a passion for the power of collective problem-solving and international expertise in launching new ideas, developing community-focused business models, and driving executive-level organizational strategy. Since founding Context Partners, Charlie has developed and led projects for clients such as Ashoka, National Academy for State Health Policy, and Nike.

From 2006 to 2010, Charlie was the executive director of Ashoka’s Changemakers, where he pioneered the space of prizes and open innovation for social change, building an online community of 100,000 innovators from more than 125 countries and connecting more than $50 million in philanthropic funding. In addition, he has consulted on network-based business models for the Government of Jamaica and The Nature Conservancy.

Charlie is a 2010-11 Creative Commons Fellow and serves on the board of directors for Future Generations and advisory boards for the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, RARE Planet, and U.S. Center for Peace. He received business degrees from Virginia Tech and an International MBA from the University of Denver.

Good to Know

Charlie was once “destroyed” by John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods, on John’s personal disc-golf course.