Press Releases | July 8, 2021

Miriam Acevedo Davis and Dr. Tequilla Brownie to serve on The Mind Trust Board of Directors

INDIANAPOLIS – (July 8, 2021) – The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit, today announced the election of Miriam Acevedo Davis and Dr. Tequilla Brownie to its Board of Directors. Acevedo Davis currently serves as the President and CEO of La Plaza and Brownie is the Executive Vice President of Strategy, Policy & Community Coalitions at TNTP.

“We are pleased to welcome Miriam Acevedo Davis and Dr. Tequilla Brownie to The Mind Trust’s Board of Directors,” said Jim Schumacher, The Mind Trust’s Board Chairman. “Their wealth of experience, vast knowledge, and impressive skill sets will be valuable additions to the board. I look forward to working with Miriam and Dr. Brownie for the benefit of Indianapolis students and families.”

As President and CEO of La Plaza, Acevedo Davis leads the nonprofit organization’s work to provide college and career focused education programming and access to essential healthcare and social services for Latino youth and families. She has more than 30 years of experience as an executive, consultant, and volunteer. Prior to joining La Plaza, she was the executive director of the Hispanic Education Center.

Acevedo Davis currently serves on the Indiana Latino Scholarship Fund, Mayor’s Latino Advisory Council, HealthNet and Far Eastside Economic Inclusion Advisory Council. She has been recognized with the 2009 Indiana Commission for Women Torchbearer Award, 2015 Sagamore of the Wabash, 2016 NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award and 2017 IUPUI Office for Women Pacesetter Award.

As an Executive Vice President, Dr. Tequilla Brownie leads TNTP’s Strategy, Policy, and Community Coalitions division. Her team’s work is focused on improving local and national student outcomes and disrupting educational inequities to ensure all students are afforded an opportunity to be successful. Before joining TNTP, Dr. Brownie worked for nine years in Memphis City Schools, where she oversaw the district-wide effort to improve student outcomes by increasing teacher effectiveness. Dr. Brownie is also a licensed therapist and worked as a school social worker.

Dr. Brownie serves on several local and national boards including Education Leaders of Color (EdLoc), Stand for Children, KIPP Delta Arkansas, and Memphis Seeding Success Strive Network. She is a sought-after national speaker on policy issues and frequently presents to key state legislatures and other leaders and stakeholders at the national and local level to drive important policy changes related to educational equity. “The Mind Trust is thrilled to add the perspective and expertise of Miriam Acevedo Davis and Dr. Tequilla Brownie to our Board of Directors,” said Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust. ”We are confident their leadership will help our organization execute on our vision to work toward a day when race and income are no longer predictors of educational outcomes.”

About The Mind Trust

The Mind Trust is an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit that works to build a system of schools that gives every student, no exceptions, access to a high-quality education. The Mind Trust does this by building a supportive environment for schools through policy and community engagement, empowering talented, diverse educators to launch new schools, and providing existing schools with the support they need to hire world-class talent and achieve excellence. Since 2006, The Mind Trust has supported the launch of 49 schools, 15 education nonprofit organizations, and has helped place more than 1,800 teachers and school leaders in Indianapolis classrooms.