The Albrey Brown Story
My high school mascot is the Phoenix. I never thought that deeply about the mythology connected to it, but I definitely identify with the storyline of raising victoriously from the ashes. I’ve seen it happen several times in my own life, but what I appreciate most is building relationships with people that have done the same.
Albrey Brown is one of those people. When you meet him, you immediately notice his positive and joyous energy. Always smiling, always engaging, always sharp. Maintaining that attitude is even more impressive when you get to know his story.
Albrey is one of those people bound to set his own path. When he recounts his experience going to school while growing up, it was clear that he wasn’t challenged or often inspired. He attributes finishing high school as a promise to his mother, who passed after a fight with breast cancer when he was 18 years old.
As he ventured out into the world, he was determined to build himself up and change places to better serve his community. He set out to gain skills that would earn him a living. He got into the world of personal training when he came across an ad for a coding bootcamp called Hack Reactor. After graduating from the school he started to earn a six-figure income.
Many of us would have taken the money, created a comfortable life and not caused no trouble. Not Albrey, he decided to start a coding school of his own, Telegraph Academy, intentionally designed for minorities and women. The tech industry persistently falls short in its ability to diversify its workforce. Instead of pointing his finger at the bad industry outcomes, he and his co-founder sought to change it.
Then Telegraph Academy went under in 2016, but Albrey did that thing that Phoenix's do. He’s been committed to the cause of breaking down the doors of the tech sector to welcome top talent from underrepresented backgrounds. He’s continuing to build himself, learn how large companies work, how top executives think, and how to set a new path for himself and his community.
In this episode we talk about his amazing story, the progress (or lack thereof) in the effort to diversify tech, and how he’s been intentional with his mental and physical fitness to maintain his success.
Albrey’s Recommendations: