Curriculum Vitae
Cerissa A. Brown, LBSW
Social Work Consultant | Advanced Standing MSW Candidate
2026–2027 CSWE SUDEALS Scholar
Birmingham, Alabama · hello@cerissabrown.me
Professional Profile
Cerissa A. Brown is a storyteller, writer, Alabama Licensed Bachelor Social Worker, and advocate whose work centers Black women's behavioral health. As Founder and Principal of Cerissa A. Brown & Associates, she connects research, professional practice, storytelling, and public education to questions of care, identity, access, and systems change.
Her perspective is informed by her own lived experience with mental health as a Black woman, professional practice, research, and community advocacy and leadership that began in 2008. Her work includes serious mental illness, mood and personality disorders, maternal mental health, substance use and co-occurring concerns, culturally responsive care, stigma, and the consequences of professional and institutional decisions.
Professional Leadership
Cerissa A. Brown & Associates (CABA)
• Lead writing, research, storytelling, professional education, speaking, and resource development centered on Black women's behavioral health.
• Create workshops, learning activities, presentations, and public-facing educational materials that make complex information practical and understandable.
• Manage organizational formation, administrative and compliance records, digital communications, and business operations.
Reecee's Reach
• Founded a nonprofit focused on Black women's mental health and access to culturally responsive information, resources, and support.
• Led community education, partnerships, donation appeals, fundraising communications, and organizational development. Current programming is limited while organizational records and future plans are maintained.
Books And Writing In Development
Chosen Is Not the Prize
• A book centered on Black women, relationships, identity, choice, worth, and social expectations.
Know Her Before You Label Her: Understanding Black Women Before Your Documentation Shapes Their Lives
• A practical guide examining how Black women are understood, labeled, and written about, and how those descriptions can shape later care and decisions.
Further Book Project
• Explores public expectations of Black women's strength and caregiving, their private experiences and unseen needs, and what happens when women express needs or change expected roles.
Research And Original Work
Black Women's Behavioral Health Research Agenda
• Examine how people and institutions interpret Black women's behavior, distress, symptoms, functioning, and needs, what follows from those interpretations, and how care and institutional responses can become more accurate, contextual, humane, and accountable.
WISE
• Whole-Woman Integrated Support and Equity Across the Continuum of Care. Original work on sustained, coordinated support for Black women through wellness, everyday life, and mental health difficulties.
• Addresses mental health, substance use, access, continuity of care, and shared responsibility. Continuing research examines how support can respond to a woman’s priorities throughout her life.
Black Maternal Mental Health Dossier
• Long-form research and public-education work focused on Black maternal mental health, recognition of symptoms, care access, and the contexts affecting help-seeking and support.
Peer-Led Online Communities and the Mental Health Well-being of Black Women
• Examined online peer communities and social support, with attention to the limits of self-report, causal inference, research design, and generalizability.
Speaking And Professional Education
The Record After You: How Records Shape Forensic Decisions About Black Women
• Creator and lead presenter for a 75-minute live virtual workshop at the 34th Annual Forensic Rights and Treatment Conference.
When a Black Woman Says Something Has Changed: Mental Health, Midlife, and Being Taken Seriously
• Presented on Black women's mental and emotional health during perimenopause and midlife, changing symptoms, and practical healthcare self-advocacy.
View The Royal Shift event information
E.L.E.C.T. Teen Summit
• Facilitated discussion of boys' self-care.
For Us, By Us: Building Mutual Aid That Works
• Conceived, planned, promoted, produced, and facilitated a two-hour live virtual workshop on mutual aid and community care; created graphics, participant handouts, and learning materials.
NAMICon 2023
When Work Follows You Home
Community Advocacy And Public Leadership
MLK Day of Service Feminine Hygiene Drive
• Created and independently led a citywide period-product access effort for three consecutive years.
• Coordinated donor outreach, community and nonprofit partnerships, public communication, media engagement, product collection, and annual execution.
• Secured in-kind support from The Honey Pot Company for the inaugural drive, supplying menstrual products for First Light Shelter. Coverage included WBRC in 2021 and ABC 33/40 Talk of Alabama in 2023.
WBRC | January 19, 2021: First Light shelter donation drive
Candidate for Mayor of Birmingham
• Ran a first-time municipal campaign and participated in televised forums, public debates, interviews, and voter outreach.
• Advocated for mental health programs, conflict resolution, community policing, support for people experiencing homelessness, food access, and responsive neighborhood services.
• Developed the platform and public messaging; managed candidate qualification, campaign operations, volunteer recruitment, grassroots fundraising, and campaign-finance compliance.
WBRC | August 2021: Televised forum and mental health proposals
AL.com | August 2021: Debate on crime, education, and the economy
Birmingham Times | August 18, 2021: Debate and school-funding advocacy
Alabama Political Reporter | August 18, 2021: Community safety and policy priorities
Mental Health Advocacy and Civic Engagement
• Publicly advocated for mental health awareness, the needs of people experiencing homelessness, and transparent, community-focused leadership.
• Local reporting documented citywide mental health advocacy as well as public statements on policing, school funding, neighborhood needs, and community safety.
Patch | March 3, 2021: Profile of local philanthropy, activism, and mental health advocacy
AL.com reporting via Gov1 | May 2021: Calls for transparent police leadership
Catalysts for Reproductive Justice / Yellowhammer Fund
• Reproductive-justice learning and service involving reproductive autonomy, maternal health, sexual-health education, practical resources, and community action.
Community Fundraising and Public Outreach
• Experience includes online donation appeals, donor and sponsor outreach, in-kind contributions, volunteer recruitment, partnership development, campaign communications, and public-facing events.
Reecee's Reach mental wellness campaign | Historical campaign, 2023
Leadership Development
Milestone Circles
LBJ Women's Campaign School
View the official 2023 LBJ cohort profile
ACLU of Alabama Smart Justice Organizing School
Higher Heights for America #BlackWomenLead Bootcamp
Published Writing
The Holistic Healing Source Scholarly Anthology, Volume 1
Original contributor reflection on page 20, informed by work with clients and lived experience as a Black woman.
Public Testimony And Environmental Justice
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Public Hearing
• Delivered testimony on coal ash, environmental racism, community health, and the physical and mental health consequences of pollution affecting Uniontown, Alabama.
• Called for stronger enforcement and the closure of regulatory loopholes. Testimony and comments were documented in the official hearing record and national environmental reporting.
Official EPA hearing transcript | Testimony begins on printed page 114
Energy News Network / Canary Media | June 29, 2023: Human toll of coal ash pollution
Courthouse News | June 2023: Advocates call for stronger coal ash enforcement
Dispatches from the Frontlines of Coal Ash: Chicago EPA Hearing
• Documentary about the coal ash hearing and community advocacy for stronger environmental protections.
Podcasts And Public Communication
Black Mental Health Matters Show
• Hosted a conversation with Carla A. Carlisle about depression, anxiety, and child mental health.
Listen to the Black Mental Health Matters hosted episode
The Real Cerissa Brown Podcast
• Created public conversations connecting mental health, personal storytelling, relationships, and community.
Explore The Real Cerissa Brown podcast archive
PiZetta Media: Podcast with a Cause
• Discussed Reecee's Reach and its work supporting Black women's mental health.
Listen to the Reecee's Reach interview
Professional Storytelling and Public Education
• Develop educational writing, presentations, social content, and public conversations that connect behavioral health research, lived experience, and professional knowledge with everyday questions.
Education And Credentials
Licensed Bachelor Social Worker (LBSW), Alabama
Master of Social Work, Advanced Standing Clinical Program
Bachelor of Social Work
Substance Use Disorders Education and Leadership Scholar (SUDEALS)
Dream Support Grant
Certificates And Professional Training
Women's Entrepreneurship Certificate. Bank of America Institute for Women's Entrepreneurship at Cornell / eCornell | Issued January 24, 2021. Six-course program in venture development, communication, funding, planning, growth, marketing, and legal foundations.
Nonprofit Board Member Essentials Certificate Program. NonprofitReady / Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation | Completed October 9, 2023.
Adult First Aid/CPR/AED. American Red Cross | April 17, 2026-April 17, 2028.
Adult Mental Health First Aid USA. National Council for Mental Wellbeing | Completed November 3, 2023; certification period ended November 3, 2026.
QPR Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper. QPR Institute | September 2025.
Alabama CANS 5-17 1.0. Praed Foundation | February 2026-February 2027.
Clinical Training And Continuing Education
Maternal Mental Health Certificate Course. Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health / Postpartum Support International pathway | Fall 2026 | In progress.
CITI Program: Social & Behavioral Research; Information Privacy Security for Researchers, Students, and Instructors. Basic courses | Completed September 10, 2026 | Expires September 10, 2029.
Adult Abuse and Child Abuse Mandated Reporters Training. Alabama Department of Human Resources | Completed September 19, 2026 | 1 social work CE contact hour per course.
Crisis Response Program Coordinator Training. Crisis Response Programs and Training | September 4, 2026 | 4 hours.
Clinical Documentation & Treatment Planning: Treatment Plans, Progress Notes and Legal and Ethical Compliance. eCare Behavioral Health Institute | August 20, 2026 | 6 contact hours.
BPD & Emotional Chaos Webinar: Clinical Strategies for Crisis, Splitting & Rupture Repair. eCare Behavioral Health Institute | August 20, 2026 | 6 contact hours.
2026 Suicide Prevention Summit. Mental Health Academy | August 19-22, 2026 | Seven clock hours, including suicide risk, survival, and Black girlhood.
Breaking Maladaptive Patterns Masterclass: Schema Therapy for Chronic Emotional & Relational Problems. Wendy Behary, LCSW | June 18, 2026 | Attended.
Adolescent Crisis Response Summit. The University of Alabama | May 5, 2026 | 6.25 contact hours.
Applications of Motivational Interviewing. Alabama Pre/Post Adoption Connections, Children's Aid Society of Alabama | October 2025 | Attended; provider issued CE verification.
PromisSE HMIS Basic Training (AL500). One Roof | June-July 2025 | Training and homework completed; live-site access confirmed.
AI & Digital Practice
Design and manage AI-assisted workflows for research, writing, presentation development, knowledge management, and quality review. Develop prompts, organize source material, compare outputs with original records, and check accuracy, voice, and source attribution. Digital experience includes Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Zoom, Asana, Slack, AVATAR EHR, HMIS, iCarol, and SimplePractice.