The Illinois Supreme Court and Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) today announced the hiring of Deanie Brown as the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer (CDIO), a senior level position reporting to the AOIC Director. Her first day will be November 2, 2020. 

As the CDIO, Brown will be responsible for the development and implementation of a results-focused comprehensive strategy to foster diverse, equitable, and inclusive leadership and staffing for the Illinois Judicial Branch, including the hiring, retention and promotion of a diverse and inclusive workforce. She will work with the Supreme Court and the AOIC to provide comprehensive, strategic, and programmatic leadership and vision that advances and promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion for the benefit of the Illinois Judicial Branch. 

“On behalf of the Illinois Supreme Court and the AOIC, I would like to say how thrilled we are that Deanie is joining the Judicial Branch,” Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said. “Her extensive experience in diversity and inclusion efforts will be a tremendous benefit for the entire court system.” 

Brown has been the Associate Chancellor for Access and Equal Opportunity at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) since 2008, an executive leadership position in which she served as a diversity advocate involved in recruitment and hiring processes, complaint resolution and investigation, and compliance oversight. In this role she designed, implemented, presented, and promoted campus-wide diversity and intercultural competency programming, and managed the Office of Access and Equal Opportunity and its staff, operations, and budget. She served as a member of the Chancellor’s Administrative Council and University of Illinois System executive committees. 

“I am so thrilled with this incredible opportunity to serve and support the esteemed Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court and their commitment to diversity and inclusion. It is a true privilege to step into what for me is a dream job – serving equity and the law – at this time of great awakening,” Brown said. “I look forward to answering the call to assist in deepening and sustaining inclusive practices and initiatives, on behalf of our court system and the people who depend on it.”   

Brown dually held the role of Campus Title IX Coordinator at UIS, holding responsibility for University-wide education to address and prevent all forms of sexual misconduct and overseeing investigative and fact-finding processes responsive to formal complaints of misconduct. 

From 2006 to 2008, Brown was the Senior Executive Officer to the President and Chief of Staff at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. In this two-year Presidential appointment, she provided executive leadership for the President and the University after the extreme devastation to the campus caused by Hurricane Katrina. Brown also served as the Campus Resource on Diversity and Inclusion for the Historically Black Institution and provided executive support to the University’s Board of Trustees. She was a member of the President’s Senior Cabinet. 

From 2003 to 2006, Brown was the Assistant to the President for Internal Relations at the California State University Stanislaus. In this role, Brown helped transform campus culture as the Chief Resource on Diversity Initiatives, and additionally served as the Campus Title IX Coordinator, American Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance Coordinator, and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Compliance Coordinator for the school. She was responsible for the approval of all academic hiring requests and promoted diversity recruitment and retention initiatives. 

From 1999 to 2003, Brown served as Director of Employee Relations & Human Resources at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In this role, Brown was the University’s senior authority on employment law, diversity, and inclusion strategies, and handled complaint and grievance resolution for the University’s largest employing unit of 1,100 Employees and 23 labor unions. She served as a member of the University-wide Workers’ Compensation Committee and the Executive Management Team. 

Brown earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign. 

Brown’s professional affiliations include the Illinois State Bar Association, the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity, the National Association of College and University Attorneys, California State University, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers, University of Illinois at Chicago. She has served as an advisory board member for NPR Illinois since 2014.