Jennifer Brown Lerner
Jennifer Brown Lerner has spent her career working to ensure all young people have the opportunity to thrive. As the Deputy Director for the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, she has a range of responsibilities for strategy, management, and community work. Previously, she was the Assistant Director for Policy and Partnership for the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, where she managed the policy subcommittee and Partners Collaborative.
Before joining the Aspen Institute, Lerner served as the Deputy Director of the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), where she oversaw the organization’s work on education, workforce and youth policy to ensure all students graduate ready to succeed in college and careers. Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Lerner also worked as a classroom teacher, coach and communications officer.
Lerner’s career began supporting the creation of a Summerbridge (now Breakthrough Collaborative) site in Atlanta, Georgia, an innovative model that provides summer and school-year programming to students from under-resourced communities through a teaching residency for college undergraduates under the guidance of professional teachers. Lerner received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and her MA from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Lerner and her husband live in Washington, D.C. with their two active boys who have embraced sports sampling and thus she has fully embraced her role as chauffeur and cheerleader.