EPU Eminent Scholars Program
The EPU Eminent Scholars program was created to support our mission of shifting harmful narratives across the American South. As our research has shown, meaningful and lasting change depends not just on the strength of the message, but on the credibility of the messenger. Trusted voices—rooted in community, academic insight, and lived experience—are essential for reaching new audiences and inspiring engagement.
Eminent Scholars serve as thought leaders, partners, and amplifiers of EPU’s work. Through their expertise, networks, and public presence, they help shape culturally resonant narratives, contribute to research and programming, and elevate discourse related to our mission and work. Their voices strengthen our ability to connect, persuade, and build belonging across diverse communities.
As EPU continues its work to change harmful narratives in the American South, it is essential that we use a variety of messages and messengers to reach our new audiences. Our research tells us that finding and amplifying the voices of trusted messengers is the only way for our messaging to be impactful and lead to sustainable change. That is why we created the EPU Eminent Scholars program.
Angela McKee-Brown
Angela McKee–Brown is the Founder of Joy In Common, which offers a simple, accessible practice that supports people in noticing and naming their experiences of joy. Through three steps, Reflect, Share, Ask, the practice cultivates awareness of joy in our personal and connected lives. Joy In Common is grounded in the belief that when joy becomes how we connect to each other, communities transform.
Prior to launching Joy In Common, Angela founded and led Project Reflect, a food systems design lab that develops meaningful, just, and joyful food experiences with communities. She developed Project Reflect while serving as an Entrepreneur in Residence with Emerson Collective.
Angela‘s career spans leadership roles that bridge food systems, education, health, and community engagement. She served as Executive Director of The Edible Schoolyard Project, a non-profit dedicated to designing hands-on educational experiences in the garden, kitchen, and cafeteria that connect children to food, nature, and each other. She went on to serve as Chief of Programs and Innovation with GirlTREK, a global movement supporting Black women’s health and wellbeing, where she now serves as an advisor. Earlier in her career, she served as Director of Innovation and Strategy with San Francisco Unified School District’s Future Dining Experience, where she and her team leveraged private funding and a $20 million bond to redesign the school food system of San Francisco.
Angela is a 2024 Mimi and Peter E. Haas Distinguished Visitor with the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University and a 2016–2017 Stanford University d.school Civic Innovation Fellow. She holds a Master’s in Food Studies from NYU and lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her wife and daughter.