We are saddened by the news of the tragic death of our sister and friend, Dr. Carol Brown.  Carol was a contributing member of the Black Lancer family at Pasadena City College (PCC).  Dr. Brown was an executive board member with TABE in years past, and worked tirelessly on behalf of students in need.    

In Carol’s 15 years of service at PCC, she held positions in various areas across campus. However, Dr. Brown will best be remembered as a friend and advocate for social justice.  She inspired many students and colleagues to dream big in the area of academics, and was a constant support to those who were thinking of, or had started doctoral studies in higher education.  Dr. Brown could be heard encouraging future doctors to, “Hang in there, doctor. The journey may be long, but it is worth it!”This sentiment was shared with colleagues and students alike.  

Among her many joys, Carol was an avid fisher and loved talking about her adventures on the water.  She was passionate about education and how transformative the academic journey is.  She will be remembered as a loving, kind, warm-hearted warrior for students.   

TABE mourns the loss of this amazing sistah!  Please keep her family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.   

We love and miss you Dr. Brown! 

- Statement from The Association of Black Employees (TABE)

Loving. Selfless. Caring.Hardworking. Dedicated. She had so much to give with passion & pride. With such love. Full of heart with a beautiful soul. Always willing to help those in need. Giving to those who would like a chance an opportunity. Encouraging those who are willing to go further. Empowering who she can. My dear Carol was such a blessing to have in my life. To hear & see her laugh, smile, & be emotionally with you. She was such a comfort for me. She was straight up with me. She was always caring & looking out for me. I will always cherish my days with her. The times spent. All the good & bad times. She will always be in my heart. We will miss you in this world Carol. My friend. My Loving. Selfless. Caring.Hardworking. Dedicated. She had so much to give with passion & pride. With such love. Full of heart with a beautiful soul. Always willing to help those in need. Giving to those who would like a chance an opportunity. Encouraging those who are willing to go further. Empowering who she can. My dear Carol was such a blessing to have in my life. To hear & see her laugh, smile, & be emotionally with you. She was such a comfort for me. She was straight up with me. She was always caring & looking out for me. I will always cherish my days with her. The times spent. All the good & bad times. She will always be in my heart. We will miss you in this world Carol. My friend. My confidant. My angel. 

- Grace Pitts

To Dr. Carol Brown’s family, I met Carol when I started working at PCC in January 2017. I had been hired to help open the Lancer Pantry – an on campus food bank. Carol was one our first visitors. She wanted to introduce herself and see how we worked so she could bring the students she was helping to our little market. I could see her care and love for the students she brought to our door. Any student that I talked to that knew her had nothing but great things to say about her. I knew immediately that I liked Carol. She was so welcoming to me and so helpful as I tried to find my way through all the bureaucracy of the campus. I was drawn to her as I am sure many were. Her smile brightened my day as I would bump into her in the parking lot and walk in with her. As the pantry grew, we got donations from Panera bread and I learned that she liked raisin bagels. I would make a point to save a bag of four for her when we got them. She was so tickled when I would walk into her cubicle downstairs with this treat. Our friendship grew and I learned about her love of deep-sea fishing. I could see her whole body relax as she would tell me about her trips and how much she loved those times. As time went by, I knew I would like to spend more time out of work with her. I invited her over to our house to have wine and cheese and crackers one evening. My husband joined us on the patio and fell in love with Carol too. What a wonderful time hearing her talk about all that was so important to her. She was so passionate about her students (all students actually) and talked about how to make their lives better. Little by little I started learning about her family. Especially about her brother since both he and my husband were both on dialysis. She worried about him and seemed to be devoted to caring for him. She also talked about her daughter that was a nurse in northern California. She was so proud of her and loved to talk about her lovely daughter and what was happening in her life. One day at work she said, “Let’s go to dinner sometime!” “The Boiling Crab!” We met there and what a tasty feast. We talked for over two hours and had a wonderful evening. She was such an interesting person and the most empathetic one I have met. In the fall of 2019, I had to quit my job at PCC due to my aging parents. They needed a lot of help and I could not give the hours to my work. Carol and I made sure to call each other every once in a while, to keep in touch. Then COVID hit. We talked less frequently but still had fun when we did. During the summer of 2020, I called her and asked if she would like to come over and eat dinner in our front yard? I had been missing her. “Boiling Crab and wine,” I said. “I’m there!” she said. Another wonderful evening. She brought some frozen white fish that she had recently caught on one of her fishing trips. How thoughtful! We talked another couple of times on the phone that fall. I can’t believe I won’t have her in my life any longer. I know you must have a big hole in your lives and in your universe. I am so sorry for your loss. She was one of a kind and the world is less kind, less compassionate, less loving without her in it.

- Our deepest sympathies, Lisa and Scott Nelson 

I met Carol Brown on a cold Monday in February in her office. I had just taken on the role as the Low-Income Student/Rapid Response Senate Committee, though not even that title had been created yet. I have to admit as a new hire, I took this role a little too seriously. I made appointments with several people on and off campus who were working with the unhoused people and people with financial insecurities. Also the previous November, I heard about the Bruin’s Shelter and secretly had a dream of starting a shelter for PCC students. I didn’t know how I was going to do it or who would work with me on it, but everyone said, “You need to meet Carol.” She ran the Dreamkeepers program at that time, which offers emergency funds for students. I remember her inviting me into her office space. It was just a cubicle but the space felt like love. She had food and water to give out to students. She wore a big comfy scarf and had another one draped on the extra chair which she moved and invited me to sit. She had thank-you cards and drawings on her board, positive quotes, a plethora lists and pamphlets of organization that offered services, and pictures of her grown children. I remember the way she sat me down, the way she laughed, the way I felt welcomed. A student came to her office space, and she was just as gracious to him. She answered all his questions and showed him the information he needed. Then we talked about how the new senate committee and Dreamkeepers program could work together. Finally I told her my dream of starting a shelter and she laughed and told me that was her dream too. She has two big computer screens that she turned to and started opening up files that she had compiled from her own research on the matter. We both laughed because there is no greater joy than sharing a wild and crazy dream with another person. We were kindred. Then we made a plan to meet every Wednesday during our lunch breaks to plot and plan together. When I look through my journal of that year I see how fast we moved, how many meetings we set, all the avenues we tried, the connections we made with so many community members and organizations. We were on a mission. We talked on the phone all the time. She told me about her children and her brothers and her deep water fishing trips. I loved her stories, and I could tell she was matriarch of a big loving family. I told her about my boys and my poetry. I remember being at meetings we set up with community members, and we would practically finish each other’s sentences. And then we had a breakthrough and thanks to Fernando Serrano and his connections to Learning Works, we met Mikala Rahn and she also shared our dream and was willing to share her space to make it happen. While we never achieved the full time student shelter of our dreams, we did start a winter shelter for students. We also helped students get emergency funds. There were some major setbacks too, but I watched how Carol kept showing up, staying optimistic, laughing through the hardship, and she kept her eye on the prize, which was always student success and offering meaningful support to those who were struggling. Finally she called me a few months ago and told me about her new big dream to develop and co-coordinate the Black STEM program. And she was was so excited. Carol was a beautiful light in this world, and I am left with so much sadness. I will finish with one last image of Carol. We had created fliers and posters for a website to help students navigate services on and off campus. We met one day to pass them out and to hang them up in different areas of the campus. I had a busy schedule, and I’m generally an impatient person. Anyway, we started going to the different departments on the campus, and there was not one room she walked into where she didn’t know and hug someone, where she didn’t inquire about their life, work and family. She introduced me to all of them telling me all about their wonderful attributes and then telling them mine. What could have taken 30 minutes, took a few hours. She was that kind of person. I can only dream of having such patience and presence. She brought joy and grace everywhere she went. She’s my hero. 

- Emily Fernandez