I’m an author, activist, Professor of Education Emerit at Colby College, and senior researcher at the Rural Vitality Lab. My scholarship and praxis explore the conditions that enable youth voice and engagement with a focus on resistance and dissent in the face of oppression.
Our most recent RVL research partnership with Cobscook Institute in downeast Maine was a five year whole-child, trauma-responsive approach to rural school reform. Encouraging educators to upend traditional power dynamics by listening to and validating student experiences and expertise, we saw lower absentee rates, higher test scores, and improved school climate. Our book documenting the project and a range of innovative practices is now available from Harvard Education Press.
I am the author of 6 previous books and 7 curriculums. I’ve written about the political power of girls’ anger, the cultural underpinnings of horizontal violence in the form of girlfighting, the impact of media and marketing on girls and boys. and the power of intergenerational activism and youth-fueled social change efforts. One of the best compliments I’ve received about my work is that it successfully bridges the gaps between research, practice, and public service.
You can download my CV here: Lyn Mikel Brown CV 2022 Lyn Mikel Brown CV 2022
On a more personal note, I was born and raised downeast, in Vanceboro and Calais, both Maine-New Brunswick border towns. I did my undergraduate work at the University of Maine, University of Kent in Canterbury, England, and Ottawa University in Ottawa, KS. I received a masters in psychology from Southern Connecticut State University and my doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I was was a founding member of the Harvard Project on Women’s Psychology and Girls’ Development, working with Dr. Carol Gilligan. I live in Portland with my partner, Mark, and our cat and two dogs but head downeast every summer to be with friends and family.