Tracy Brown was born in Toledo, Ohio and raised in Kentucky and St. Louis primarily before graduating from high school in Ohio. She attended Kentucky State University, where she played basketball and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. She went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science, hoping to become a physical therapist. She made her way to Athens in 2016, via Atlanta, looking for a slower pace, where she worked at the Salvation Army. Tracy worked as a shelter monitor, CARES housing coordinator, and then the emergency shelter coordinator for the Athens Area Homeless Shelter. She recently retired from that job to work as a Real Estate Agent with Athens Greater Properties.
Tracy serves on the board of Canopy Aerial Studios, as well as on the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship’s board as the vice president, and on the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement’s board as their chair.
Tracy is a musician and vocalist. Currently she sings with two bands: Tracy and Jeff, a duo that performs jazz, blues and classic standards, and Aquatic Soul Band. She is also currently the director of The Vagina Monologues, a fundraiser for The Cottage Sexual Assault Center & Children’s Advocacy Center. There will be three performances of the collection of monologues focused on life as a woman, all of which will take place at the Marigold Auditorium in Winterville. The performances take place February 6th, 7th and 8th. Tracy was previously a performer in the annual production, and has been a director now for the past three years.
Tracy lives on the Eastside of Athens with her roommate, John, and two poodles.
What do you love most about the work you do?
I am a person that is interested in the humanity of another human being. And so anything that brings me in that space to be able to see where a person is, to be able to enjoy them in the moments that are possible, and to be able to sit with them in moments that are not so comfortable, that is the seat I like to sit in and walk in on this planet. It took a little while for me to just kind of hone in on what are the things that that call to me, and it’s community. It’s helping people.
When you’re not working, what are some things you like to do in and around Athens?
Ooh, I love to go and enjoy other musicians. I love that. I love to see the talent here in Athens. Athens is full of amazing things, whether it’s theater, visual art, or vocal art, there are just so many things that you can enjoy and watch other people grow in their craft. I love to experience those other things from other artists.
If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
I would go to Paris, because I think that’s an amazing place, and I haven’t been yet, and it’s on my bucket list.
If you could put any message on a billboard, what would it be?
The message that I would put on a billboard would be: test your heart. See how it feels, what’s in it.
What is your favorite movie?
So, I’m an action girl. I love action movies. I love to see people doing all types of stunts, and so anything with action and anything martial arts, I’m all in. The movie I saw the most recently is the new Bad Boys movie [Bad Boys: Ride or Die]. There is a lot of action in that movie. It keeps your attention.
Do you have a favorite book or a book you find yourself rereading or referencing or gifting?
So there’s a book called The Way Forward, by Yung Pueblo, and it’s an amazing book where the author takes experiences he’s had or other people have had, and then crafts good messages on each page in a way which individuals can read it and think on how that affects their life, and how there can be an opening or a closing in the heart based on what’s healthy for the individual.
It’s a beautiful, beautiful expression of being.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Everybody has multiple gifts and to allow those expressions to come through and explore them and be grateful for them. Know that they’re there because they are a gift to be offered out to the planet. They’re not gifts inside just for the human. Those gifts are there so they can be cultivated and shared with others, which is the true gift. It’s the giving of the gifts that are on the inside. So do that freely, that would be the advice I would give my younger self.
If you could see any musician or band or show anywhere, what would you want to see and where?
I would want to see Etta James at a nice, small, swanky jazz blues space that’s just so intimate you know everything you feel coming through there is 100% authentic. A small club with perfect lighting.
If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and where?
If I could have lunch with anyone dead or alive, it would be Nelson Mandela. Yeah, it would be Nelson Mandela. I would just want to be in his presence and hear what he had to offer. I would be very curious on what those offerings would be and how they would come across. And I would also like to know if there were moments when there were shifts in thought over time, and what that looked like and what that felt like.
What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word home?
Safety, love, and kindness.
