Will Brown Reporter email

Will Brown is a Report for America corps member focusing on race, poverty and inequality for Jacksonville Today.

He previously reported for the Jacksonville Business Journal. And before that, he spent more than a decade as a sports reporter at The St. Augustine Record, Victoria (Texas) Advocate and the Tallahassee Democrat.

Over his 15-year career, Brown has won awards for breaking news, social media and photography. And in 2020, he contributed photographs for WFSU News/Health News Florida’s national Murrow Award-winning series “Committed: How and Why Children Became the Fastest Growing Group Under Florida’s Baker Act.”

Brown has an undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University and a master’s from the University of South Florida. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and soccer. He lives in Clay County with his wife and son.

Featured image for “Youth entrepreneurship camp geared for Northwest Jax teens”
The Youth Exposure, Inc. board comprises serial entrepreneurs. From left are Nahshon Nicks, Starr Prescott, Aisha Norris and Rick Walker. | Submitted, Dwight Garth, Youth Exposure, Inc.
May 23, 2024

Youth entrepreneurship camp geared for Northwest Jax teens

Youth Exposure Inc. will hold an eight-week camp for children and teens between 10 and 19 years old.…

Featured image for “Northside ‘huddle’ draws cautious optimism about ‘Stadium of the Future’”
Michael Wright listens to a community conversation about the $1.4 billion proposal from the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Jaguars to renovate EverBank Stadium on Thursday, May 16, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 16, 2024

Northside ‘huddle’ draws cautious optimism about ‘Stadium of the Future’

A community investment promise is helping sell the Stadium of the Future proposal, while Northside activists vow to oppose it.…

Featured image for “Eastside homeowners get help on utility bills”
Barbara Robertson has lived on the Eastside for nearly 50 years. She says the Restore, Repair and Resilience program has transformed her home on Jessie Street. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 16, 2024

Eastside homeowners get help on utility bills

JEA and the city of Jacksonville won an $845,000 federal grant to make Eastside homes more energy-efficient.…

Featured image for “Diversity in Aquatics, Duval Schools and city parks partner to spread swimming skills”
Miriam Lynch is executive director of Diversity in Aquatics, a nonprofit that looks to eliminate disparities in pool and aquatic access. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 15, 2024

Diversity in Aquatics, Duval Schools and city parks partner to spread swimming skills

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children on the autism spectrum. And Black and Latino children are more…

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | Edward Waters commencement”
May 12, 2024

PHOTO ESSAY | Edward Waters commencement

Saturday’s Edward Waters University commencement was held Downtown because the HBCU’s gym can no longer fit its graduates.…

Featured image for “#AskJAXTDY | What is going on at J.P. Small Park?”
Henry Aaron Field at J.P. Small Ballpark is undergoing a $9.6 million renovation. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 10, 2024

#AskJAXTDY | What is going on at J.P. Small Park?

A Jacksonville Today reader wonders why he sees dirt piles and construction equipment at J.P. Small Park.…

Featured image for “Public pools in Duval, Clay, St. Johns set to open Memorial Day weekend”
Children in the Durkeeville neighborhood wade into the waters at the Emmett Reed Swimming Pool on Friday, July 14, 2023.
May 9, 2024

Public pools in Duval, Clay, St. Johns set to open Memorial Day weekend

The unofficial start to summer will jump off with a splash as community pools in Jacksonville, Green Cove Springs and…

Featured image for “DeSantis signs credit union bill in Jacksonville”
Gov. Ron DeSantis came to Jacksonville to sign a bill allowing the state to deposit money in credit unions. | News4Jax
May 2, 2024

DeSantis signs credit union bill in Jacksonville

Jacksonville’s financial services industry could benefit from a bill that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Thursday at VyStar Credit Union headquarters.…

Featured image for “Kamala Harris assails Florida abortion law in Jacksonville”
Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Prime Osborn Convention Center in Jacksonville to decry Florida's abortion laws that outlaw the procedure six weeks after conception on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
May 1, 2024

Kamala Harris assails Florida abortion law in Jacksonville

The vice president said the Heatbeat Protection Act, which took effect Wednesday, stripped 4 million women of reproductive freedom.…

Featured image for “New Town residents question Duval Schools on proposed closures and teacher cuts”
Duval County School Board Chair Darryl Willie and interim Superintendent Dana Kriznar attend a community forum hosted by the Jacksonville NAACP at the Beaver Street Enterprise Center in New Town Tuesday. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 30, 2024

New Town residents question Duval Schools on proposed closures and teacher cuts

The Duval School District may need to eliminate up to 700 staff positions.…

Featured image for “Jacksonville welcomes 40 new US citizens”
More than 700 people watched as 40 people became American citizens during a naturalization ceremony Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at First Coast High School. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 30, 2024

Jacksonville welcomes 40 new US citizens

More than 700 people watched as 40 people became American citizens during a naturalization ceremony at First Coast High School.…

Featured image for “Duval school district rebuffs pressure to end relationship with Jacksonville Public Library”
The Dallas Graham Branch of the Jacksonville Public Library is often filled with children from nearby Durkeeville, Grand Park and Moncrief Springs in the afternoon following the end of the school day. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 30, 2024

Duval school district rebuffs pressure to end relationship with Jacksonville Public Library

Amid the national “book ban” conversation, Duval school officials defended a longstanding connection with the Jacksonville Public Library.…

Featured image for “Duval Schools apologizes for errors over arrested teacher”
April 26, 2024

Duval Schools apologizes for errors over arrested teacher

The district acknowledged that a teacher at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts should have been removed his classroom immediately.…

Featured image for “Former Douglas Anderson teacher pleads guilty”
Former Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher Jeffrey Clayton pleaded guilty to four counts on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 24, 2024

Former Douglas Anderson teacher pleads guilty

Jeffrey Clayton admitted to touching a teenage student and uttering romantic feelings about her.…

Featured image for “Nonprofit may hold key to Duval literacy gaps”
READ USA Chief Executive Rob Kelly says tutoring by the literacy nonprofit has improved reading comprehension and literacy among students at seven Duval County public schools. Interim Superintendent Dana Kriznar, left, and School Board members Warren Jones and April Carney joined him at a news conference Monday, April 22, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 23, 2024

Nonprofit may hold key to Duval literacy gaps

Students have improved their reading accuracy and comprehension after tutoring from READ USA, a literacy group based in Jacksonville.…

Featured image for “Six semifinalists picked for Duval Schools superintendent”
The Duval County Public Schools administration building, with a bronze statue of children reading in front of it. | Claire Heddles, Jacksonville Today
April 23, 2024

Six semifinalists picked for Duval Schools superintendent

Five men and one woman are semifinalists for superintendent of Duval County Public Schools.…

Featured image for “St. Augustine in driver’s seat for Black history museum”
St. Johns County leaders have identified a West Augustine site, near the former location of Florida Memorial College, as a potential home for a Florida Museum of Black History. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 19, 2024

St. Augustine in driver’s seat for Black history museum

The Florida Museum of Black History Task Force named St. Augustine as one of its top three locations to house…

Featured image for “Duval parents plead to keep their schools open”
Longtime Atlantic Beach resident Carolyn Zisser brought Diane Ravitch's book "Slaying Goliath" with her to address the Duval County School Board on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Zisser was among nearly a dozen people who implored the board to keep Atlantic Beach Elementary open. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 16, 2024

Duval parents plead to keep their schools open

Nearly a dozen parents spoke to the School Board on Tuesday, but school officials stressed again that no decisions are…

Featured image for “Education chief visits Raines to tout Bright Futures scholarships”
Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. spoke with freshmen and sophomores at Raines High School on Friday, April 12, 2024, about opportunities through the state's Bright Futures Scholarship Program. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 15, 2024

Education chief visits Raines to tout Bright Futures scholarships

Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. wants to ensure that students know their options for attending college.…

Featured image for “Cummer and The Links bring arts to Northwest Jax students”
Tiger Academy students produced drawings and other artworks this year following a November 2023 field trip to The Cmmer Museum of Art & Gardens in November 2023. | Submitted
April 12, 2024

Cummer and The Links bring arts to Northwest Jax students

Art can help people overcome emotions they do not realize are present. That was one of the motivations of staff…

Featured image for “Muslims in Jacksonville celebrate end of Ramadan”
Imam Bilal Malik leads an Eid al-Fitr prayer. An estimated 7,000 people gathered inside Dream Finders Homes Flex Field at Daily’s Place for an Eid al-Fitr celebration on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 10, 2024

Muslims in Jacksonville celebrate end of Ramadan

More than 7,000 people gathered inside the Dream Finders Homes Flex Field at Daily’s Place for an Eid al-Fitr celebration.…

Featured image for “JTA proving to be an alternative to school buses”
A JTA electric bus.
April 8, 2024

JTA proving to be an alternative to school buses

The My Ride to School program has exceeded expections as Duval Schools wrestles with transportation costs.…

Featured image for “A.L. Lewis fund sparks Black philanthropy with first grants”
Rebecca Williams is the CEO of Fruit of Barren Trees Pipeline Inc. The nonprofit strives to erect affordable housing in the Moncrief Springs community in Northwest Jacksonville. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 4, 2024

A.L. Lewis fund sparks Black philanthropy with first grants

The A.L. Lewis Black Opportunity & Impact fund announced grants toward health, education and economic development in predominantly Black neighborhoods.…

Featured image for “Duval consolidates 2 elementary schools, but gives parents extra year to prepare”
R.V. Daniels has served students in the Grand Park neighborhood since 1964. The Duval County Public Schools board moved to close the school following the 2024-25 academic year. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
April 2, 2024

Duval consolidates 2 elementary schools, but gives parents extra year to prepare

R.V. Daniels Elementary in Northwest Jacksonville will be consolidated with R.L. Brown Gifted and Talented Academy after the 2024-25 school…