Paul Brown is an associate clinical professor and the inaugural director of the Civic Innovation Center at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. He is also co-PI of the university’s Maryland Democracy Initiative and PI of the university’s 2024 US Election Assistance Commission grant to promote recruitment of University System of Maryland students to serve as poll workers.
In 2021, he co-developed the BIG Ten Collaboration: Democracy in the 21st Century, with the goal of leveraging the expertise of BIG Ten universities to offer shared democracy programming for the benefit of students and communities of the conference. Using the assets of a public, flagship, land-grant university, Brown facilitates full participation in our self-governed democracy with particular emphasis on youth civic participation and promoting innovative forms of deliberative democracy.
Before SPP, he spent 16 years as an executive at two of Washington’s leading bi-partisan government relations firms. Prior to that, he worked on Capitol Hill in various political and policy positions, including eight years on the Senate Democratic Leadership staff of Leader Tom Daschle (SD). He also served in policy positions for the governors of Maryland and Texas and began his career as a research assistant at Congressional Quarterly magazine.
Brown earned his master of public affairs degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT, Austin, and BA in political science cum laude from Kenyon College.
- Civic engagement
Restricted to PLCY majors or permission required.
Schedule of Classes
Students undertake a complex policy or management challenge on behalf of a client, often of their choosing.
Building on their work in PLCY690, students undertake and present a complex policy or management analysis on behalf of a client, often of their choosing.
Schedule of Classes
The Vote 16 Research Network is a community-led collaboration between the university, community leaders, young voters, and philanthropy that will pursue new knowledge about lowering the voting age together. The network will work to produce ongoing knowledge about lowering the voting age and establish a connection between scholars and communities that can expand beyond this particular policy in important and impactful ways.
Learn More about Vote 16 Research Network
American democracy is in crisis. The lack of trust in democratic institutions—including in our election system, our public schools and the news media—represent major threats.
Learn More about Maryland Democracy Initiative
