San Francisco State University

Deborah Anna Brown is a doctoral candidate in History with a certificate in Women’s Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received a Master's degree in History from Brown University in 2003, a second Master’s degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2007, and a Bachelor’s degree in History and African/African-American Studies with Honors in Jewish Studies from Stanford University in 1999. She expects to receive her Ph.D. in the spring of 2010. Brown is the recipient of the UCLA/Mellon Program on the Holocaust in American and World Culture dissertation fellowship, a German Historical Institute doctoral fellowship, a Deutsche Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) Research Grant, and the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies fellowship, among other awards. Brown completed her dissertation fieldwork in Germany, Israel, England, and various parts of the United States of America. Brown has presented her work in Germany and the United States and will present papers at Oxford University and the German Historical Institute later this summer. Her larger interest in German history stems from her own German heritage. Brown’s family comes from a village in northwest Germany called Lohne/Wietmarschen, where her sister was born. As an Afro-German, Brown’s work and social involvement attempt to bridge the gaps between education, diversity and visibility. From an early age, she was interested in history, and her research trips to Berlin helped to solidify the path to her PhD. Fueled by her interest in community and social activism, Brown has recently co-founded a non-profit organization, OpportunityETC, with a mission of promoting education among historically disadvantaged and under-served communities. She is a native of southern California.