Danielle Brown, USA & Trinidad & Tobago

Danielle Brown, Ph.D. is the founder and owner of My People Tell Stories, LLC (MPTS), a company that she founded in 2014. Based on the premise that people of color in particular, and marginalized people in general, need to tell and interpret their own stories, MPTS provides educational, cultural, and performance-based services that center on the people of the African diaspora with a specific focus on the Caribbean region. Brown received her Ph.D. in Music from New York University with a concentration in ethnomusicology, and a specialization in the music of Latin America and the Caribbean. Her research has focused mostly on parang/parranda music in Trinidad and, more recently, the intersection of music, spirituality, and healing. Before starting MPTS, Brown served for two years as an Assistant Professor of Music History and Cultures at Syracuse University. She has lectured at various colleges and universities, and has also worked with elementary, middle, and high school students; she is certified in the Kodály method of music education. Brown is an active vocalist and cuatro player, and she composes and performs jazz and Latin American and Caribbean-based music. She is author of the ground-breaking ethnographic memoir, East of Flatbush, North of Love: An Ethnography of Home.