Hi everyone, I'm Maggie McGrath, editor of Forbes Women.

For the last three decades, our next guest has been a transformative force in education and fashion,

at the intersection of both, in fact, as the president of the Fashion Institute of Technology here in New York City.

She was the first black woman appointed to the role when she took her position in 1998.

Dr. Brown, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much for the invitation.

It's my pleasure.

So let's go back to the very beginning when you broke ground, being the president of

this institution. You are a PhD in psychology, is that correct?

Yes.

Did you imagine taking over an educational institution dedicated to fashion,

having gotten your PhD in psychology?

Well, you know, it's interesting.

I've spent my entire career really in public higher education.

So for many years I worked for the City University of New York. FIT is part of State University,

so similar animals but very different institutions. And so I did, I was working in a college while I pursued my PhD. I was putting myself through

graduate school essentially. I always say I'm the mailroom story of a college because I did

every job. And so it was through that process that I realized that I thought I could do a better job

than what I was seeing. I, you know, that we had to always keep in mind that the institutions

really are there to further the opportunity and the progress of students.

And the bureaucracy can oftentimes overtake that.

And so I was very motivated to move through the ranks and get to run an institution in the

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