Support RBW PH Awareness Group's Mission

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 Dr. Katherine Y. Brown is a nationally recognized public health leader, author, and humanitarian committed to saving lives and transforming communities. As a wife and mother of four, she models resilience, discipline, and compassion in every area of her life. Guided by the principle that “anything worth doing is worth doing well,” Dr. Brown has spent her career advancing health equity, leadership development, and community-based education.

She is the founder of Learn CPR America, an organization dedicated to making life-saving CPR training accessible in under-resourced communities across the country. Through this work, she has directly impacted thousands of lives, especially in faith-based and minority populations. In honor of her late mother, she also established the Roberta Baines-Wheeler Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Group, which continues to raise awareness about pulmonary hypertension while promoting wellness and advocacy in underserved communities.

As the visionary behind the Dr. Katherine Y. Brown Leadership Academy (KYB)—also known as Know Your Brilliance—she created a national model for youth development that exposes high school and college students to leadership, public health careers, and service learning. The academy’s unique structure combines civic engagement, health education, and global leadership, preparing emerging leaders to lead with both skill and integrity.

Dr. Brown is the author of multiple works that center on leadership, faith, and wellness, including:

• I am Amazing
• Know Your Brilliance: A Leadership Manual for Students and Mentors
• I Am Resilient: Reflections for Women Leading from the Margins
   

Her scholarship and community engagement have earned her numerous prestigious honors, including:

• The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteer Service
   
• The American Heart Association's Dr. Martin E. Simmons Award for Community Health Leadership
   
• The 100 Black Women of Nashville Susan Short Jones Award for Leadership in Health
   
• Recognition by the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame
   
• National CPR Instructor of the Year recognition from training agencies and advocacy groups
   
• Faith & Health National Leadership Award for her innovation in faith-based health outreach
  

Sydney Y.K. Brown serves as Executive Director of the Roberta Baines-Wheeler Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Group (RBW PH Awareness Group), a nonprofit organization founded by her mother, Dr. Katherine Y. Brown, and named in honor of her grandmother, the late Roberta Baines-Wheeler. A third-generation legacy leader, Sydney brings a bold vision for health equity and an unwavering commitment to community empowerment.

A rising physician-leader, Sydney is currently pursuing her Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. She holds a Master’s in Leadership and Public Service from Lipscomb University and a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Agnes Scott College, where she completed over 2,800 hours of lab research and was awarded the Synapse Award in Research Excellence.

Sydney made history as the first undergraduate student to be admitted to the prestigious Morehouse School of Medicine Community Health Leadership Program, where she joined a national movement to eliminate disparities in health across racial, generational, and socioeconomic lines. She is also a recipient of the Association of Black Women Physicians’ Rebecca Lee Crumpler Memorial Scholarship and the Vena Ricketts Community Service Scholarship—recognitions that honor both academic excellence and community commitment.

Her leadership and advocacy have been recognized nationally. In 2023, she was honored with the Susan Short Jones Leadership Award for Health by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Metropolitan Nashville Chapter. She is also a proud alumna of the Meharry Medical College Summer Research Internship Program and a recipient of the Kiwanis Club of Music City President’s Appreciation Award.

As Executive Director of RBW PH Awareness Group, Sydney leads with the conviction that awareness alone is not enough—action, education, and representation are essential to transforming public health outcomes. Her leadership fuels the organization’s growth through innovative initiatives like the Benches of Hope Project, youth development programs, and strategic community partnerships.