Phoebe Brown
Phoebe Brown is a long-time community activist in Ithaca and one of the founders of Mutual Aid Tompkins. She currently serves as Central Regional Coordinator for Alliance of Families for Justice, where she supports, empowers and mobilizes families of incarcerated people and people with criminal records to marshal their voting power and advocacy skills for systemic change. Phoebe has lived in Ithaca for over two and a half decades, coming from Harlem, where she gained a deep understanding that mutual aid, strong relationships and community support systems are the bedrock of a strong society— in stark contrast to those who rely on abstract metrics that invariably find that high rise luxury apartments are the answer to every city’s problems. Since then, Phoebe has worked ceaselessly to secure access to resources for marginalized communities and to create a resilient Ithaca that prioritizes strong relationships and healthy neighborhoods.
Phoebe has been among the most active organizers in Ithaca, and is deeply committed to giving a voice to those who are usually left out of the political process or ignored during conversations about economic development. She has directly worked with many local institutions and organizations over the years, including the Ithaca City School District, Cayuga Medical Center, Southside Community Center, Get Your Green Back Tompkins, Building Bridges, Bike/Walk Tompkins, The Multicultural Resource Center, BOCES, the Crisis Hostel Project, among others. And even with all of this, she still says that her biggest achievement is being a mother to three and a grandmother to eight.
Ithaca Solidarity Slate
Elect Shaniya Foster, Phoebe Brown, and George Defendini for Ithaca Common Council 2021.[1]
