Dr. Joan M. Browne brings a rich blend of national and international experience in human services and career development to the executive team at Howard University’s Center for Career Education, Development & Research (CEDAR Center). Hailing from the beautiful isle of Barbados where she worked as a Social Worker and later as a Psychologist for the Government of Barbados, Dr. Browne commenced her student affairs profession at Howard University serving for two years as a Graduate Assistant with the Office of Residence Life, and three years as a Senior Student Assistant with the Career Services Office. In her current role as Director of the Howard University CEDAR Center, Dr. Browne provides exemplar leadership to her team of employees as she manages the daily operations of the department, which carries the mandate to provide outstanding comprehensive career development programs and services to university student and alumni populations and corporate partners.

Prior to her acceptance of the directorship of the CEDAR Center, Dr. Browne served in the capacity of Interim Director from February 1, 2008 to August 2008 and as Associate Director from October 2001 to January 31, 2008. During this time she worked tirelessly to develop, implement, and augment the department’s programs and services, serving as faculty and employer liaison, administrator of the On Campus Recruitment and Career Education Programs. She has also managed the university-wide internship program, fall and spring career week activities inclusive of all career and graduate school recruitment fairs, employer receptions, and presentations. As coordinator of the internship program, Dr. Browne served as mentor and career advisor to several domestic and international students who sought work-based learning experiences in their fields of study. Drawing heavily on her training as a Psychologist, Dr. Browne continues to provide individual and group career coaching to undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni.

In the fall of 2005 Dr. Browne expanded her professional portfolio with the introduction of a career and life planning course – Career & Life Planning: Exploring Careers in Psychology – to the Howard University student population offered through the university’s Psychology Department. The research course, which had never before been taught at the university, positioned students to make informed career and life decisions by providing a structured environment within which to conduct thorough self-assessments while exploring and researching the world of work and the career options available to them. Success of the new course was immediately realized, with pre- and post-intervention measures revealing substantial increases in career decision making self-efficacy across the board for class participants. Based on this success, Dr. Browne, in collaboration with the Psychology Department wrote and was successfully awarded a grant from the Fund for Academic Excellence to repeat the course in the spring of 2007. Dr. Browne has served as a research mentor to undergraduate students with majors in psychology, and has been a research collaborator in the Psychology Research Laboratory run by Jules P. Harrell, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology Howard University, exploring the relationships among personality traits, career decidedness, and life satisfaction.

Dr. Browne received a BA in Social Work from Oakwood College (now Oakwood University) in Huntsville, Alabama, a MS in Clinical Psychology from Alabama A&M University and a Ph.D. in Personality and Social Psychology from Howard University.
Dr. Browne holds professional memberships in the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the National Career Development Association (NCDA), Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Association for Psychological Type (APYi), and the Northeast Region of the Association for Psychological Type (NEAPT) where she has served as Secretary for the Regional Board of Directors.

Blessed to have been nurtured and guided by strong and positive role models throughout life, Dr. Browne continues to demonstrate her appreciation and honors their efforts by committing to a life-long career in human service. She holds firmly to the words of Mary McLeod Bethune: “A woman is free if she lives by her own standards and creates her own destiny, if she prizes her individuality and puts no boundaries on her hopes for tomorrow.”