Brandon D. Cosby Recipient of Doctor of Public Service
Brandon D. Cosby is the chief executive officer of Flanner House of Indianapolis, Inc., Indiana’s oldest community service agency for the black community focused on moving people from crisis and instability to a place of self-reliance and independence.
Cosby is also the founder of Indianapolis’ largest urban farm, Flanner Farms; Cleo’s Bodega Grocery and Café, which is located in what was the largest food desert in Indianapolis; Morningstar Mental Health Services; Ujamaa Community Bookstore; and the Flanner Farms Greenhouse Project. Prior to coming to Flanner House, Cosby was a senior education leadership specialist at Amplify Education Services. While at Amplify, he was responsible for developing and delivering on-site and remote individual and group coaching to principals, teacher leaders, and district-level leaders.
Additionally, Cosby designs and provides community and parent engagement strategies that center on developing academic support networks for students. Before joining the team at Amplify, he was the founding principal at Shortridge Magnet High School for Law and Public Policy in Indianapolis. He also served as the senior fellow for high school transformation at the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning at the University of Indianapolis. While there, Cosby helped develop and train more than 40 school administrators and instructional coaches. He has served as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, and a founding member of the first charter high school in the State of Indiana.
As an anti-racist activist, Cosby has used his training in Critical Friends Group, Courageous Conversations About Race, and facilitator training with the Inter-Cultural Development Inventory to create more racially equitable and inclusive environments for students, families, and communities across the country.
Cosby received his bachelor of science from the University of Indianapolis and Master of Arts in Teaching in Education Leadership from Oakland City University. He is the proud father of four amazing kids: Sierra, Zion, Kenji, and Atticus.
Marian University is privileged to award an honorary doctorate degree in public service to Brandon D. Cosby for his selflessness in service to the Indianapolis community and leadership in education and social justice.