I am Dr. Derschaun Brown, President and Founder of Helping Individuals Succeed (HIS), a community driven, non-profit organization dedicated to developing positive character in the lives of inner-city youth and their families. Raised in Detroit, MI, my desire to effect positive change in my community inspired the launch of the HIS Agency in August 2004.
Since the very beginning, my vision for the HIS Agency has been to empower inner-city youth with the tools needed to boost their self-esteem and confidence. My vision was cultivated through my childhood, education and life experiences. As a child, life was filled with challenges, yet my mother refused to allow those challenges to stifle my creativity. At eight years old, she enrolled me into charm school which not only taught me about manners and etiquette it helped build my confidence to pursue other creative endeavors in music, modeling and acting. My mother encouraged me to succeed. After graduating from high school, I earned a bachelor’s degree in health care administration from Davenport University and in 2013, I received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Most recently becoming a Certified Coach in 2019.
Before founding the HIS Agency in 2004, I worked in human resources and then went on to work for the Detroit Public Schools (DPS). While working at DPS I facilitated programs that boosted the confidence and self-esteem of young boys and girls. In 2019 I wrote my first book entitled I am the Gift aimed at helping young ladies boost their confidence and self-esteem.
In 2016, I was honored as a Michigan Chronicle Woman of Excellence. I currently reside in the Metro Detroit area with my husband and teenage son.