Former Vice President of Product Innovation, Neighborly Software

Dirk Brown is a technologist with a classics background and a storyteller’s heart. Author of The Road Lessons Traveled, Brown has spent a lifetime collecting travel experiences and translating them into lessons for bringing the wandering spirit of travel to everyday life.

Brown’s career includes executive levels in product innovation and design at Hitachi, AT&T, and PGi. and advising roles for several tech startups supporting housing and cultural institutions. Currently focused on real estate building and investing, he has been a pioneer in the backyard housing development movement in Atlanta. 

When not writing or traveling, Brown actively contributes to the fabric of Atlanta and the southeastern US through his leadership as board chair of the Michael C. Carlos Museum and the Microlife Institute. He also serves on the board of Oxford College in Oxford GA and Drayton Hall Preservation Trust in Charleston, SC. 

A graduate of the College of William and Mary and Emory University's Goizueta Business School, Brown was selected for the Regional Leadership Institute Class of 2019 by the Atlanta Regional Commission. He resides in Atlanta's historic Virginia Highland neighborhood where he continues to write about his beloved city and maintains an avid interest in innovative housing, travel, art and architecture.