Charles J. Brown has held senior positions in the US Departments of Defense and State, served as the Pentagon’s representative to the Atrocities Prevention Board, and held leadership positions in several major non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Charlie is Vice President of Strategy for Humanity Education Fund (StratFund), a nonprofit that provides charitable support for the work of individuals and organizations that are dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of people, communities, and nations all over the world. Through small grants, Strat Fund invests in initiatives that enhance rights, improve justice, and strengthen the well-being of individuals and communities globally. Strat Fund resources enable recipients to unleash creativity, share knowledge, support their community, engage diverse participants, develop effective strategies, and achieve meaningful results.
Charlie is also a Partner at Strategy for Humanity LLC, a consulting firm that works with mission-driven organizations and those who fund them to develop effective strategies, conduct smart evaluations, and achieve meaningful results.
Charlie brings a deep knowledge of systems thinking and change management, having advised organizations on identifying and securing positive results in a rapidly changing international environment. He has led evaluations and strategic policy planning processes for more than two dozen NGOs, foundations, and government agencies; helped foundations design and implement grantmaking programs; conducted organizational and program evaluations; led strategic communications and rebranding campaigns; advised on governance structures; facilitated meetings of thought leaders and government officials; and coached executive staff.
Charlie is also a recognized thought leader on atrocity prevention and human rights. Prior to joining Strategy for Humanity, he served as Senior Advisor on Atrocity Prevention and Response in the Office of the Undersecretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, where he was responsible for leading DoD implementation of the initiative to integrate atrocity prevention into U.S. policy. Previously, Charlie served as Principal Deputy for Rule of Law and International Humanitarian Policy, overseeing DoD policy development and implementation on a range of issues and developing guidance that applied across the U.S. defense sector. In his time at DoD, he also played a leading role in developing and securing Pentagon support for a range of White House initiatives, including the Executive Orders barring discrimination against LGBTQ persons by federal contractors and establishing U.S. policy on Women, Peace, and Security.
Since 2016, he has served as Chair of the Experts Committee on Preventing Mass Violence, a bipartisan initiative to support Presidential and Congressional action on preventing mass atrocities. In 2015, he was the Leonard and Sophie Davis Genocide Prevention Fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, where he authored a review of U.S. policy toward the 2013-2014 crisis in the Central African Republic. He has held senior leadership positions with Institute for International Law and Human Rights, Amnesty International USA and Freedom House, among other NGOs. During the Clinton Administration, Charlie was Chief of Staff in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the U.S. Department of State and served as the spokesperson for the US delegation to the Rome Conference on the Establishment of the International Criminal Court and the first meeting of the Community of Democracies.
When he served as part of the executive leadership at NGOs, Charlie successfully secured large grants and private funding and supervised staff that were working on government relations, conducting overseas research and advocacy internationally, launching new programs, and creating grassroots campaigns. For several organizations, he also has developed office-wide guidance to onboard employees and establish management systems. He currently serves on the boards of the Institute for International Law and Human Rights and Traveling Players Ensemble.
Charlie is author of A Necessary Good: U.S. Leadership on Preventing Mass Atrocities; The Obama Administration and the Struggle to Prevent Atrocities in the Central African Republic; Human Protection: Strategic Opportunities in a Challenging Political Environment; and The Politics of Psychiatry in Revolutionary Cuba, among other publications.
Charlie is Vice President of Strategy for Humanity Education Fund (StratFund), a nonprofit that provides charitable support for the work of individuals and organizations that are dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of people, communities, and nations all over the world. Through small grants, Strat Fund invests in initiatives that enhance rights, improve justice, and strengthen the well-being of individuals and communities globally. Strat Fund resources enable recipients to unleash creativity, share knowledge, support their community, engage diverse participants, develop effective strategies, and achieve meaningful results.
Charlie is also a Partner at Strategy for Humanity LLC, a consulting firm that works with mission-driven organizations and those who fund them to develop effective strategies, conduct smart evaluations, and achieve meaningful results.
Charlie brings a deep knowledge of systems thinking and change management, having advised organizations on identifying and securing positive results in a rapidly changing international environment. He has led evaluations and strategic policy planning processes for more than two dozen NGOs, foundations, and government agencies; helped foundations design and implement grantmaking programs; conducted organizational and program evaluations; led strategic communications and rebranding campaigns; advised on governance structures; facilitated meetings of thought leaders and government officials; and coached executive staff.
Charlie is also a recognized thought leader on atrocity prevention and human rights. Prior to joining Strategy for Humanity, he served as Senior Advisor on Atrocity Prevention and Response in the Office of the Undersecretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, where he was responsible for leading DoD implementation of the initiative to integrate atrocity prevention into U.S. policy. Previously, Charlie served as Principal Deputy for Rule of Law and International Humanitarian Policy, overseeing DoD policy development and implementation on a range of issues and developing guidance that applied across the U.S. defense sector. In his time at DoD, he also played a leading role in developing and securing Pentagon support for a range of White House initiatives, including the Executive Orders barring discrimination against LGBTQ persons by federal contractors and establishing U.S. policy on Women, Peace, and Security.
Since 2016, he has served as Chair of the Experts Committee on Preventing Mass Violence, a bipartisan initiative to support Presidential and Congressional action on preventing mass atrocities. In 2015, he was the Leonard and Sophie Davis Genocide Prevention Fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, where he authored a review of U.S. policy toward the 2013-2014 crisis in the Central African Republic. He has held senior leadership positions with Institute for International Law and Human Rights, Amnesty International USA and Freedom House, among other NGOs. During the Clinton Administration, Charlie was Chief of Staff in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the U.S. Department of State and served as the spokesperson for the US delegation to the Rome Conference on the Establishment of the International Criminal Court and the first meeting of the Community of Democracies.
When he served as part of the executive leadership at NGOs, Charlie successfully secured large grants and private funding and supervised staff that were working on government relations, conducting overseas research and advocacy internationally, launching new programs, and creating grassroots campaigns. For several organizations, he also has developed office-wide guidance to onboard employees and establish management systems. He currently serves on the boards of the Institute for International Law and Human Rights and Traveling Players Ensemble.
Charlie is author of A Necessary Good: U.S. Leadership on Preventing Mass Atrocities; The Obama Administration and the Struggle to Prevent Atrocities in the Central African Republic; Human Protection: Strategic Opportunities in a Challenging Political Environment; and The Politics of Psychiatry in Revolutionary Cuba, among other publications.
