Tikki Brown serves as the assistant commissioner for Children and Family Services for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. She is responsible for services and policies that promote adoption, foster care, child protection, child support, child care, refugee services, and cash and food support. She will focus on supporting Gov. Walz’ and Lt. Gov. Flanagan’s stand to make Minnesota the “best place for children to grow up” while advancing equity and inclusion for the children and families we serve.
Before her appointment as assistant commissioner in 2021, Brown served as Economic Opportunity and Nutrition Assistance director. She led housing and shelter, food shelves, nutrition education, outreach, employment and training, community action and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and worked with her team to deliver programs and strategies designed for Tribal Nations, counties and partner agencies to serve hundreds of thousands individuals and families with low incomes.
Under her direction, she also helped expand services for Indigenous people of Minnesota, including:
Brown is a graduate of the University of Minnesota; Senior Leadership Institute at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and Enterprise Learning & Development; and fellow of the Equity Leaders in Action Network, BUILD Initiative. She has volunteered for numerous organizations, including Urban Ventures, where she served on the board of directors. She developed an Equity Council at a local middle school. She currently serves on the American Association of SNAP Directors Executive Advisory Council. At the department, she served as the agency’s representative on the Cultural and Ethnic Communities Leadership Council, and currently serves on the Strategic Anti-racism Team Steering Committee and sponsors the Black Women Employee Resource Group.
