Tom Brown moved to South Bend in 1967 from his hometown, Warren, IN. Tom was born in 1946. He graduated from high school in 1964 and attended DePauw University and Indiana University. He is a graduate of Indiana University South Bend where he earned a B.A. in psychology. Tom married later than most. He and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this year. Their daughter is a senior at Clay High School.
During his college years, Tom worked in factories, on a municipal utilities crew and as a telephone technician. Later he worked in the mental health field and in music, sometimes simultaneously. Tom was the electric bassist in the popular 80′s Blues trio, Southside Denny and the Skintones. When his daughter was born, Tom ceased traveling as a musician and performed locally with several jazz, blues and rock bands including the long running Foggy Knights. Also during the 80′s, Tom became interested in computers, taught himself to build, repair
and program them and formally studied programming. Tom started a computer consulting and training business specializing in end users and small businesses. He currently manages the computers and networks
for a successful and growing local manufacturing and services firm, a former client. Tom still maintains a small consulting practice for local mental health, medical, and law firms and several churches.
Tom is a social entrepreneur and long time social activist. During the late 60′s Tom served on the staff at The River City Review, an alternative South Bend newspaper. In the 70′s, he helped establish a volunteer grassroots store front drug and suicide intervention programaimed at teens and young adults in South Bend. Tom was hired by the Mental Health Center of St. Joseph County (later Madison Center) to assist in the creation and supervision of professional drug outpatient treatment programs. Tom was involved in organizing the People’s
Concerts and People’s Fairs which were the forerunners of the annual Summerfests formerly held in South Bend every July 4th weekend. In 2003, Tom founded Free Geek Michiana to “help the needy get nerdy.” Free Geek refurbishes donated computers and gives them to low income families and individuals and recycles what is not useful. Tom is also one of the original producers for GreenTV and continues to produce shows for the alternative media project. He maintains the St. Joe Valley Greens web site.
Tom had abandoned major party politics by the time he moved to South Bend. Tom joined the St. Joe Valley Greens in 1995, the year Pete Meyers ran on a Green platform for the 1st District Common Council
seat. Pete’s opponent was Stephen Luecke, now mayor of South Bend. Tom has served in every capacity available in the local chapter including delegate to national and state Green organizations.
Tom is committed to the Greens because of their fundamental values: grassroots democracy, social justice, nonviolence, environmental wisdom. He believes these values are fit to guide us in the world as it is now and as far into the future as any of us can see.
To find out more about Tom’s platform, please go here.
