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Soo Brown
Executive Director, Foundation for Eastern Christian School

 

Please tell us about yourself.

I grew up in Norwood, NJ and attended Norwood public school then on to Northern Valley Regional high school in Old Tappan.  I attended St. Lawrence University for college and NYU Wagner for grad school.  

My husband Dave and I met at Redeemer Presbyterian Church when we were both working for Morgan Stanley and living in NYC.  I was very involved with their Center for Faith and Work and also started a workplace ministry at Morgan Stanley.  

We have two daughters, Elyse and Kaelyn, who both attend the EC elementary school. Dave left the finance world and now works in a wholesale business which also supports orphanages and missionaries in Africa.  My mom and brother’s family still live locally in Bergen County.

My father-in-law is a retired CRC pastor from the midwest but now in the Lancaster area.  He and my mother-in-law serve as an interim pastor as opportunities arise.

I enjoy cooking, jigsaw puzzles, gardening, and interacting with people. I love matchmaking/connecting people to each other and also hearing people’s stories, especially their testimony.

 

How did God bring you to work at EC?

Before joining EC, I had an 18 year career at Morgan Stanley. I spent two years in Public Finance and then the rest of the years growing in the Community Affairs/Foundation department where I left as the U.S. Head. There was an unexpected but clear call from the Lord to leave in 2018 so I took the leap of faith to be home, focus on my family, and get more involved in ministry opportunities. The Lord led us to EC that same year and we also moved closer to the school shortly after when we decided to commit to the school long term. I got involved with the EC community as a parent volunteer and then was informed of an opening in 2021 by two staff members. It seemed clear that this was an open door by the Lord so I took another leap of faith to join the Foundation team.

I attended St. Lawrence University for my BA in Environmental Studies & Sociology, and then New York University, Wagner school of Public Service for my MPA (pending) in Nonprofit Management.

At Morgan Stanley and in my field of Corporate Philanthropy, my expertise was in “employee engagement” and I developed many charitable initiatives focused around that: employee giving, volunteering, pro bono, skills based, board service, and general culture change towards philanthropy. I worked on many collaborative efforts with other areas of the company and was a “go to” on connecting people within the Firm. I love making things better, more engaging, and coming up with new ideas for improvement.  I’m looking forward to strengthening the EC Community at large.

 

Why Eastern Christian School?

I saw the Lord’s clear hand in the orchestration of my calling here. As an EC mom, I clearly have an interest in the success of the school but it is so evident in this season that EC is a haven in this anti-God culture. I see the love that the staff have for the kids and their commitment. I want to have a part in making sure that EC can continue to be “His school” where our awesome God is honored and where His truth is taught to students. I’m looking forward to helping to strengthen the EC Community at large.

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