We are proud to announce this year’s Irish Person of the Year, Christina (Christi) Brown! ☘
Christi, proud mother of three and grandmother of nine, has lived in Louisville, Kentucky since 1968 when she married Owsley Brown II. A passionate believer in the potential of diverse faith communities to effect positive change by working together, she co-founded the Center for Interfaith Relations in 1985 and then launched the first US Festival of Faiths in 1994, now in its 24th year. She is also an International Trustee of Religions for Peace, the world’s largest international interfaith organization. In 2012, Christi founded The Institute for Healthy Air, Water and Soil to promote an interconnected vision of health through citizen science and advocacy. That vision expanded in 2018 through a partnership with the University of Louisville to form the Envirome Institute. The Institute supports research on the effects of the environment on health, promotes holistic scholarship, and bridges academic research with community engagement, transforming the city of Louisville into an urban laboratory. Guided by the Circle of Harmony and Health, a tool she developed, Brown’s philanthropy empowers citizens to reveal interrelationships among environmental and human health, and the need for all forms of health to be in balance. She currently serves on the boards of the Sustainable Food Trust in England, The Land Institute in Kansas, The Berry Center, and The Center for Interfaith Relations, The Louisville Orchestra and The National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Christina will be presented her award at the noon St Patrick’s Mass at St Louis Bertrand Church on parade day March 9th, 2019. Be sure to give her a wave when you see her along the route!!
