Ezell Brown
Ezell Brown, born May 22, 1970 in San Antonio, Texas, is an American businessman, social entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
Ezell Brown is Founder, President, and CEO of Marketlinkx Direct, Inc., a full service interactive global marketing company specializing in multimedia marketing campaigns with an emphasis on education. Brown has established Marketlinkx Direct, Inc. as an industry pioneer and the premier provider of educational lead generation services. His Marketlinkx Direct headquarters is in Coral Springs, Fla. and operates out of 15,000 sq ft of facilities in the area. Brown’s companies feature interactive and entertainment divisions with extensive online design capabilities as well as production, promotional, event planning, brand development, and direct marketing expertise. He currently employs more than 800 employees and independent contractors in [http://finance.yahoo.com/news/CORRECTING-and-REPLACING-bw-14976595.html?.v=2/ offices throughout the world], including Houston, Ft. Lauderdale, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, St Vincent, India, Nepal, and the Philippines.
Ezell Brown is the Founder and Chairman of Education Online Service Corp. (EOServe Corp), a social enterprise that assists colleges and universities in harnessing 21st century tools of transformation to better serve their students and communities. Brown’s mandate to the EOServe Corp executive team is to extend the reach, increase the enrollment and support the retention of students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) and other higher education institutions in diverse communities. EOServe Corp partners with schools to develop and deliver their full service online curriculum; structure their back-end administrative functions; implement recruitment and enrollment marketing plans; and support their students with tutoring services, financial aid, and work-study opportunities at interactive marketing institutes. In 2009, Brown hired long-time civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. as [http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Dr-Benjamin-F-Chavis-Jr-Joins-bw-14819033.html?.v=1/ President of EOServe Corp]. Chairman Brown and President Chavis announced an historic partnership with Morris Brown Collegein April of 2009. The aim of the partnership (see press release) is to lead the resurgence of Morris Brown College by enhancing its academic offering and aggressively recruiting and enrolling more students. Morris Brown College will be the first of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to offer complete online degree programs. In addition, EOServe Corp. recently announced a partnership with the National Association For Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) - see press release. The EOServe Corp. / NAFEO partnership will provide NAFEO's 123 member institutions with a cost effective, proven way of expanding their reach beyond their campuses, to offer their current curriculum to thousands of students who want a degree but for whom a campus-based experience is not optimal.
Ezell Brown's family of companies also includes Cardlinx Systems, EZ Trax, and EZ Connex.
Ezell and his wife Roshunda Brown are the co-founders of The Ezell Brown Foundation, a not-for profit organization that provides no-cost access to online high school education and college preparatory programs for qualified student prospects in underserved markets. The scholarships are primarily for individuals who were not able to complete their high school diplomas for various life reasons. The Ezell Brown Foundation’s Educational Opportunity Scholarships grant students the opportunity to earn their high school degrees through Kaplan College Preparatory School. Ezell Brown also serves on the board of directors of Upliftment Jamaica and several companies in South Florida and Texas.
Previously, Ezell Brown served as General Manager for National Marketing Specialist, a division of Pioneer Financial Services (NASDAQ FMR). This experience led him to launch other well-known companies in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, employing more than one hundred employees through B&B Marketing Group and more than four hundred employees with Centaurus Marketing and Communications, which started out as part of the EDS and Amdahl family.
Ezell Brown has more than 18 years of experience in the analysis, development, and deployment of full –services marketing campaigns with an emphasis on educational categories. He attended the University of Texas in Arlington, Texas on a track scholarship. His interest in the direct marketing business began through a part time job he had as a telemarketer to support himself while in college. Brown continued on that path to become a successful business owner, entrepreneur and philanthropist supporting several charitable and educational causes.
Biography
Ezell Brown was born in San Antonio, Texas on May 22, 1970. He was raised in Killeen, Texas, home to many successful entertainers, athletes, and business leaders including Chicago Bears three-time Pro Bowler Tommie Harris, singer Amerie, and actresses Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Tia and Tamara Mowry.
Ezell is the third youngest of seven children born to Barbara Jean Mays Cunningham of San Antonio, Texas. She is the middle child of three born to Ida B. Mays and Samuel L. Lewis. Ezell's grandfather Samuel Lewis was an entrepreneur and a pilot in the early 1950's when it was extremely rare for an African American in the south to own a personal Airplane.
Ezell Brown has three sisters: Yolanda (Brown) Phillips of San Antonio, Texas; Monica Brown of Waller, Texas; and Alicia (Brown) Peteof Prairie View, Texas. Alicia is the woman's athletic director at Prairie View A&M.
He also has three brothers: Freddie Brown of Pembroke Pines, Florida; John Brown of Cypress, Texas (former University of Houston football star); and Ira Dale Cunningham who is also Marketlinkx Direct's Global Chief Technology Officer and is responsible for the development of the company's technology platform Ez Trax.
All of the Brown children were raised in Killeen Fort Hood by their mother and stepfather - retired Master Sergeant and Vietnam War veteran John H. Cunningham of San Antonio.
Personal
It was at the University of Texas in Arlington in the summer of 1989 where Ezell Brown met Roshunda Young. Roshunda, born on September 23, 1969 in Sulphur Springs, Texas was raised in Dallas. They dated for one and a half years and married on December 1, 1990 in Dallas, Texas. They have two daughters, Kailee Brown, born May 22, 1995, and Kiersten Brown, born October 1, 1996.
Ezell Brown is a social democrat and a fiscal republican who believes that business leaders have an obligation and social responsibility to the communities in which they serve, and to help support individuals who cannot support themselves.
Charity
The Ezell Brown Foundation, co-founded and co-chaired by Ezell and Roshunda Brown, provides scholarships for underprivileged persons who are seeking to obtain high school diplomas. The Ezell Brown Foundation offers scholarships to deserving applicants, allowing them to earn high school degrees through Kaplan College Preparatory School. The five-year goal of The Ezell Brown Foundation is to submit 2500 Scholarship Funded Candidates to the program. Brown also serves on the board of directors of Upliftment Jamaica and several companies in South Florida and Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Brown established the program to help ensure that the cost and access of pursuing a higher education on-line is not a barrier for qualified individuals who are committed to achieving increasing levels of personal achievement and growth. “We recognize the value of Scholarship Opportunities currently available in our nation , and this new scholarship program for candidates who wish to attain their Higher Education degrees online will help qualified but otherwise unable individuals reach their educational goals,” said Roshunda Brown. “Under-served communities will benefit from the increased opportunities to achieve an education regardless of means and the innovative approach to complete the process online, on their own time and while maintaining their current employment,” added Mrs. Brown.
Under the Ezell Brown Foundation, an independent review board oversees the scholarship program and determines the eligibility of applicants. The review board may also grant access to Higher Education Partner Programs on a test basis to qualified efforts and applicants. The Board votes on a simple majority basis within approximately one month after applications are collected. “We are honored to offer this opportunity to qualified individuals,” said Ezell Brown. “We look forward to the development of educational opportunities for previously underserved individuals and markets which can only benefit our communities and nation, I was fortunate enough to attend the University of Texas at Arlington on an athletic scholarship and without it I may not have had the opportunity for that experience."
Ezell Brown also is a member of the U.S. board of directors for Upliftment Jamaica, an organization started by Gary Foster, Director of Corporate Communications for EOServe Corp. Upliftment Jamaica seeks to empower impoverished communities throughout Jamaica and the Caribbean.