Alice L. Brown

Alice L. Brown is a Research Fellow at the African Centre for the Study of the United States (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa) and holds a Research Affiliate role at Columbia University’s African American and African Diaspora Studies Department. Her academic roles also include Visiting Adjunct Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Law, Visiting Fellow of Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program, and Visiting Fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School.

Education:

• New York University School of Law, J.D. (Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow)
• Dartmouth College, B.A. in History

Her research and professional focus spans civil rights law, public interest law, and social justice philanthropy. She advocates for legal transformation within the South African legal profession and emphasizes organizational effectiveness in non-profits. Her work integrates historical and contemporary issues, particularly addressing systemic inequities in housing and environmental justice in African American communities through legal frameworks.

Ms. Brown advises and serves on boards for organizations such as Section27 (South Africa’s public interest law center), Corruption Watch, Jacana Literary Foundation, and Keystone Accountability (UK). She previously led human rights grant-making at the Ford Foundation’s Southern Africa office, contributing to initiatives on rule of law, diversity, and social justice. Earlier, she litigated civil rights cases at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and clerked for Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. She is also affiliated with the Council on Foreign Relations and Institute of Directors in Southern Africa.

Her career reflects a commitment to legal advocacy, philanthropy, and institutional leadership, bridging academic and applied work in law and social justice. She has held roles in education, consultancy, and governance across multiple continents.