Yvette McGee Brown became the first African-American female justice on the Ohio Supreme Court when she took office on January 1, 2011. She was the founding president of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and was a judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas for nine years. Brown was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Central Ohio Business Hall of Fame in 2014. She is noted for a number of community service awards, public service, and her dedication to child and family protection. She currently serves as Partner-In-Charge of Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement at the global law firm of Jones Day.
In 1992, Brown was elected to the Franklin CountyCourt of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations and Juvenile division. She was the first African-American woman to be elected to this court, where she served for nine years. As lead Juvenile Court Judge, she led the creation of the Family Drug Court and the SMART Program, a truancy and educational neglect intervention program. Brown was the founding President of the non-profit Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, an organization dedicated to the treatment and prevention of child abuse and domestic violence, since 2002. She has served on the boards of Ohio University, The Ohio State University Medical Center, the Columbus Academy, the Community Shelter Board, M/I Homes, Inc. and Fifth Third Bank of Central Ohio. On December 10, 2010, GovernorTed Strickland appointed Brown to The Ohio Supreme Court effective January 1, 2011, to fill the remainder of the term of Associate JusticeMaureen O'Connor, who was elected chief justice November 2. She was defeated in her bid for re-election by Sharon L. Kennedy. Her term ended on December 31, 2012. Brown joined the Business and Tort Litigation practice of Jones Day in 2013 in its Columbus office. In February 2015, she became the firmwide Partner-in-Charge of Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement.
On January 19, 2010, Governor Ted Strickland announced that he had chosen Yvette McGee Brown as his running mate for his second term, replacing Lieutenant GovernorLee Fisher, who was departing the post to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by RepublicanGeorge Voinovich. Brown would have become the fourth female lieutenant governor and the second American of African Ancestry lieutenant governor in Ohio history. The Strickland/Brown ticket lost to John Kasich and his running mate Mary Taylor on November 2, 2010.
Yvette McGee Brown was born in urban Columbus to a single teenage mother. Yvette was raised by her mother and a grandmother, and the importance of education was stressed to her as she grew up. She was a first-generation college graduate. She is a Baptist. She is married to Anthony Brown. They have three children. During Brown's campaign for lieutenant governor of Ohio, she referred to her grandmother, who advised her to "Go run, tell that!", when others were talking about her. She told voters to "go run" and "tell" others about the facts of the Strickland-Brown 2010 governor-lieutenant governor campaign.
