Chief Operating Officer
U.S. Department of Education
Washington,
DC
Biographical Sketch: Major General (Retired) Mark A. Brown was appointed the 8th Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA) on March 4, 2019. Previously he served as a Senior Advisor in the Department of Education focusing on the human capital readiness and development needed to support approximately 42 million student loan borrowing clients and administrators in the $1.5T Federal Student Aid Program.
General Brown retired from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) where he served over 32 years as an active duty Air Force Officer. Most recently, he served as the Deputy Commander for Air Education and Training Command, where he was responsible for Air Force education, as well as basic and technical training. Prior to that, he served in a series of roles across the USAF, including Commander of the Second Air Force which is the technical training and certification process for 90% of Air Force specialties. He served as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) twice. The latest of these was as the CFO for the Air Force’s Materiel Command where he was charged with overseeing a $67 billion portfolio, with budget and financial responsibilities that provided vital services to support and command units around the world. He also served as a Congressional Liaison to the House and Senate Appropriations Military Sub-Committees.
General Brown holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Tuskegee University, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Troy State University, a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the Air Command and Staff College, and a Master’s degree of National Security Strategy from the National Defense University. He has completed professional development with Darden School of Business, Harvard JFK School of Business, and University of Tennessee.
General Brown makes his home in Virginia with his wife, Gwendolyn. They have two young adult sons.