Ahmmad Brown

Ahmmad Brown, PhD, is a Collaborating Partner with Working IDEAL and a Professor of the Practice at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. A practitioner-scholar, Ahmmad studies and advises on organizational justice, the productive role of disagreement, and inequality in times of disruptive change. Grounded in organizational behavior and sociology, his work connects research and practice to inform leadership, institutional design, and organizational change.

His current research and practice examine how organizational structures, relationships, and processes shape opportunities for participation, learning, and shared action. He also explores how artificial intelligence and broader institutional change reshape organizational opportunity structures.

Ahmmad’s academic and public writing has appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, Organization Development Review, and Journal of Applied Social Science. He developed the Stanford Social Innovation Review in-depth series, “Holding the Tension,” on effective disagreement in organizations. His teaching materials have been recognized and published by the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.

At Working IDEAL, Ahmmad contributes to the firm’s research-informed frameworks and approaches to organizational justice and change. He leads the development of a maturity model to help organizations assess their systems and strengthen their capacities for learning and adaptation. His advisory work draws on strategic planning, organizational assessment, leadership development, learning design, and mixed-methods research.

Prior to joining Working IDEAL, Ahmmad co-founded and led Equity Based Dialogue for Inclusion (EBDI), which provided consulting and advisory services to mission-driven and impact-oriented leaders and organizations.

Before his current role at Tufts, Ahmmad served as an Assistant Professor of Instruction at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, where he taught in the Master’s and Executive programs in Learning and Organizational Change and led the Leading Equity and Inclusion in Organizations Certificate program. Earlier in his career, he was a consultant at The Bridgespan Group and worked in college admissions.

Ahmmad holds a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University, an MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University, and a BA in Sociology & Anthropology and Japanese from Swarthmore College. You can learn more about his work at ahmmadbrown.com.