Vanessa Brown

About Vanessa Brown

People & Culture Builder l Avid Mountain Biker & Skier l Animal Lover l Mind-Body EnthusiastThe career I was fortunate enough to choose was set in motion at an early age. It began with my father saying, “Vanessa, whatever you do in life, I will support you, but please make sure it’s something you enjoy.” So, it got me thinking…. what am I passionate about?As I experienced college and researched different careers, I came across organizational psychology. It just clicked for me: helping people thrive in something that we spend so much of our life doing - working. And the icing on the cake? Thriving, fully engaged employees are essential to a company’s success, a sustainable, healthy bottom-line, and winning.Twenty years later, my specialty is building and scaling strategic people functions for organizations who need to take the next step in their HR journey. In a nutshell, they need to have the right talent in the right place at the right time to further propel their success. I\'ve worked in multiple industries, and businesses that are small and large, private and public, and global and domestic. What I\'ve learned is that regardless of these differences, timing your talent and having the infrastructure, leadership skills and culture to help drive business objectives provides organizations with the competitive edge to win in today\'s market. On the operational front, continuous improvement is, well, continuous! Automating, standardizing, and making processes more efficient are always at the forefront of my mind. And, to complement that, I\'m a bit of a data nerd. Using data analytics to identify issues, set goals, measure progress, and celebrate success are not only key to good business and employee engagement, but they help ensure decisions and talent practices are objective, equitable and inclusive. Personally, I’ve built a reputation for being an approachable and trustworthy partner who engages collaboratively with people at all levels of an organization. I am a leader who takes pride in developing all-star teams who are cohesive and diverse. I take my leadership role seriously and always make time to have fun and laugh with my colleagues and teams.In my free time, you’ll find me mountain-biking, skiing, appreciating nature, spending time with family and friends, and playing with my fur-babes. And perhaps it is my Eurasian heritage, but I’ve been practicing mindfulness since I was young. It keeps me healthy and positive, which is what I strive to be.

Experience

1. Chief People Officer

   GBH

   Jan 2025 — Present · Boston, MA, US

   Serve as a trusted advisor to the Executive Leadership Team, offering sophisticated counsel on complex human capital issues. Influence, design, and deploy tailored people strategies that meet both immediate and long-term organizational needs in an evolving media landscape. Provide ongoing thought partnership and leadership of best-in-class practices focused on employee development, engagement, culture, and organizational excellence in collaboration with GBH\'s Inclusion Office. Coach managers and develop leadership bench strength to help drive change, innovation and GBH\'s success. Leverage technology and data to streamline processes and elevate standards.

Education

• Columbia University

  Master's Degree, Organizational Psychology with a concentration in Organizational Development

  1993 — 1994

• University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

  Bachelor's Degree, Psychology; minor in English

  1989 — 1993