Cynthia Brown, Committee Member
Cynthia Brown is a native of Southern Maryland, specifically, St. Mary’s County. She received her bachelor’s degree in Communications from Howard University in Washington, DC. Shortly after graduation, she landed a position as a Placement Specialist in the human resources office of the U.S. House of Representatives. Ms. Brown later returned to St. Mary’s County to start her family and pursue her passion for working to empower disenfranchised communities. Cynthia’s career spans more than 25 years of public service with the St. Mary’s County Government. She is the Human Services Division Manager for the St. Mary’s County Department of Aging and Human Services. As such, her job involves advocating for people living with behavioral health and mental illness, disabilities, homelessness, and poverty.
She also writes grants and monitors various programs serving these special populations. Early in her career, she coordinated the national VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) Program for her county which provided grassroots community mobilization efforts in under-resourced neighborhoods. She has planned countless large-scale, public, multicultural events focusing on the needs of women, and disabled citizens and bringing together people of different lived experiences and ethnicities. Cynthia was designated as St. Mary’s County’s first Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator. She led the way for the local government’s self-assessment of all facilities and programs to be in compliance with the ADA. She was instrumental in establishing the County’s first citizen advisory board focusing on equity for people with special needs, The St. Mary’s County Commission for People with Disabilities.
She describes one of the highlights of her career as organizing a trip for several participants in local day programs and their caregivers to Capitol Hill to participate in the national recognition of the 10-Year Anniversary of the ADA legislation. She had t-shirts made for the “St. Mary’s Team” and handled all the transportation accommodations, safety measures, meals, and necessary details to make it a memorable trip. Many who went shared how excited and proud they felt to advocate for themselves and join with hundreds of other people with disabilities as a unified voice at such an important event! Despite her years of professional experience as an advocate in the disabilities arena, Cynthia considers her most important role in life as a mom and advocate for her daughter who experienced significant health challenges from seven years of age. Her daughter is now an adult and Cynthia continues to be her biggest champion supporting her daughter’s quest to identify her strengths, develop her own goals and live her life to the fullest. Being a Statewide Independent Living Council member allows Cynthia to advocate for resources, programs, and services that continue to support and enhance the lives of people living with various types of disabilities. She recently earned a master’s degree in Social Justice and Community Organizing and plans to use her skills to increase awareness of the Independent Living Movement. Cynthia contributes to the work of the SILC from the perspective of a mother, caregiver, community member, and public servant.