Yale School of Management - Alumni Leaders

"Yale SOM gave me the belief that I could do important things in the world that would respond to the problems of inequity, racism, underdevelopment and oppression that I had seen around me and hoped to address in my life's work. I came out of the school full of ideas of how enterprises could be created to bring talented people together to make something new and good happen."

Roger Brown became the third president of Berklee College of Music, as of June 1, 2004, and the first who is not a member of the Berk family in Berklee's 59-year history. Mr. Brown, who is also a musician, succeeded Lee Berk, who retired at the end of the academic year after a twenty-five year tenure as president. Mr. Berk's father, Lawrence, founded the College in 1945 and named it for his son. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, Berklee College of Music is the world’s largest independent music college and the premier institution for the study of contemporary music. Mr. Brown is also the co-founder of Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NASDAQ: BFAM) the world’s leading provider of employer-sponsored child care.

Mr. Brown was the recipient of the Caring Corporation Award from the Child Care Action Campaign in recognition of his advocacy for better early childhood education. He was honored by Working Mother magazine as one of the "25 Friends of the Family," which recognized men who have made it easier for working parents to raise and nurture children. He was also named the "National Entrepreneur of the Year" in 1996 by Ernst and Young/USA Today, and "Best Entrepreneur" by BusinessWeek magazine in 1997.

Mr. Brown is also a founder of the Horizons Initiative, a Boston-based, not-for-profit organization that operates two full-service child development centers for homeless children. The Horizons Initiative also manages a network of over 500 volunteers who work in Horizons Initiative play spaces in forty-five area homeless family shelters. The organization is embarking on a campaign to create a third child development center for Boston homeless children.

Mr. Brown also created the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, a nonprofit organization which creates play spaces in homeless shelters around the United States. As part of the fund raising strategy, he produced "Bright Spaces," a collection of children’s music featuring artists such as Ziggy Marley, Raffi and Jessica Harper. The CD won the Oppenheim Platinum Award, the NAPPA Silver Award, Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Award, and Early Childhood News Director’s Chair Award.

Prior to Bright Horizons, Mr. Brown was co-director of the Save the Children relief and development program in the Sudan. He also worked on the Thai-Cambodian border with Cambodian refugees and taught math and science in a rural high school in Kenya. Mr. Brown was also a management consultant at Bain and Company.

Mr. Brown graduated with a degree in physics and public policy from Davidson College. He completed a master’s degree in public and private management at the Yale School of Management.

Mr. Brown currently serves on the board of directors of Stand for Children, the Horizons Initiative, Stonyfield Farms, and Benchmark Assisted Living.

Mr. Brown lives in the Boston area with his wife, Linda Mason, also a co-founder of Bright Horizons, and their three children.