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Leading Social Impact at Google and Beyond

Shona Brown (BEng’87) spent nearly a decade building and scaling Google’s operations and social impact efforts in the Bay Area, but first developed her critical thinking skills and a passion for technology on Carleton’s campus.

Brown, a Canadian-born graduate of Carleton’s Bachelor of Computer Systems Engineering, moved to California to complete her PhD and postdoctoral degree at Stanford University after obtaining her master’s degree from Oxford University.

Brown joined Google’s executive team in 2003 and led the company’s technology for social impact efforts from 2011 to 2013 before transitioning into an advisory role. During her time at Google, she was heavily involved in the company’s renewable energy efforts and building out Google operations in sub-Saharan Africa.

“There’s been a thread of technology that runs through my career, and specifically, using technology to solve difficult problems and in particular to address important societal issues,” said Brown.

Brown explained that one project that had a significant impact on the trajectory of her career was when she led an initiative to put solar panels on the roofs of Google buildings in the early 2000s. The purpose was to demonstrate to other companies what was possible for office sustainability practices. This led to a decade-long billion-dollar project to invest, scale, and mature the solar and wind industries.

“You can make a difference by being focused and thinking about an outcome you want. In our case, we wanted renewable energy to be cheaper than coal,” said Brown.

At the end of her time with Google, Brown began serving on a variety of boards, including for private and public sector companies, Foundations, and non-profits.

The last decade and a half of her career she has dedicated increasing time to working on non-profit boards including The Nature Conservancy, the Knight Foundation, and Code for America among others.

One of the first organizations she worked with was the Exploratorium: The Museum of Science, Art & Human Perception in San Francisco. The museum runs a global initiative that builds exhibits around the world focused on STEM education and ultimately, helps museum-goers build critical thinking skills and learn how they can play a role in building a more sustainable, democratic world.

Brown initially became interested in philanthropic causes that focused on three areas still of great importance to her today: STEM, a functioning democracy, and helping others develop critical thinking skills.

“It’s important that people can, objectively, talk about all of the facts presented and come to their own opinions,” said Brown who is also a recipient of the A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction – Carleton’s highest alumni honour, and was awarded a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, in recognition of her ground-breaking leadership and innovation in engineering, social media, and business in 2014.

It was a no-brainer that she would remain involved with a number of causes that used technology to better the world once she left Google. Brown credits her time leading social impact efforts at the tech giant for helping her transition into her work with such impactful, diverse organizations.

“I consider myself very fortunate and while I’ve worked hard and brought some of the right skills to the table, there’s a lot of luck involved. I like to think that it’s a Canadian sensibility, but I don’t think that’s true. If you have some sense of social responsibility and you feel like you’re successful because you stood on the shoulders of others, it’s natural to want to help in whatever way is appropriate.”


When asked what she’s most proud of, Brown said she’s glad she’s been able to help others foster their talents.

“It’s not reflected in one goal. It’s reflected in hundreds if not thousands of people,” said Brown. “My career has let me spend time with promising, young leaders. I can give them a little advice and a little wisdom so they can go and make great things happen.”