Dr. Katherine Y. Brown is an entrepreneur and humanitarian who is passionate about developing leaders and mentorship. As an expert in curriculum development, she spearheaded the development of The Dr. Katherine Y. Brown (KYB Leadership Academy), to expose middle school, high school, and college students to global leadership while also educating them on pulmonary hypertension. In just 6 years, KYB Leadership Academy established 28 cohorts, over 260 scholars (nationally and internationally), chartered KYB at two college universities, and hosted KYB Leadership Academy Conferences in Medellin Colombia, South America; Johannesburg, South Africa; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and San Jose, Costa Rica; and Turks and Caicos Islands, to name a few.
As founder of Learn CPR America, LLC she teaches CPR for individuals and organizations (nationally and internationally) and is committed to transforming lives. Her CPR journey began on the south side of Chicago. Known by many as “The CPR Lady,” Dr. Katherine has personally trained over 300,000 people free in CPR. She explains, “Your zip code should not determine whether you live or die. Everyone should know CPR.” Dr. Katherine has appeared in print, radio, and television increasing awareness of CPR. In 2021 she made Nashville Athena history as the first woman to receive both the Athena Young Professional Award (2015) and Athena International Leadership Award (2021).
She’s received numerous awards including Vanderbilt University Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award (2014); inducted into the Academy for Women of Achievement (2016), and she received the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated SouthEastern Region Public Service Award (2018). She is a graduate of Leadership Middle Tennessee and the Foundation of 21st Century Leadership Certificate from Lipscomb University and Nashville CABLE! (2016). She is also a published author in addition to being an international speaker who is a certified Maxwell Leadership Team DISC Consultant, speaker, coach, trainer and faculty member for the John Maxwell Leadership Team. In honor of her mother in 2012 she helped to establish the Roberta Baines-Wheeler (RBW) Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) Awareness Group which became a 501c3 nonprofit organization in 2014 and has continued its mission since her mother’s passing in 2016. Dr. Katherine Y. Brown is a wife, mother of four children, and has two rescue dogs. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, she now enjoys a quiet life in Nashville, Tennessee.