MAXINE BROWN

Speaker · Mental health advocate · CPA · Founder of Releef

You only get one life.
Let's make it worth living.

Life kicked me hard. I survived it, rebuilt it, and now I spend my time helping people and organizations take mental health seriously, at home and at work.

Book me to speak Read my story
Maxine Brown smiling in a green top in front of evergreen hedges

"It's never too late to change your life."

As seen in & worked with Vogue Bustle Refinery29 Black Enterprise RAINN NAMI Condé Nast

My story

Life kicked me in the ass. I survived.

I became a mom at 18, without my family's support. I married before I was ready, and spent years in an abusive relationship. When I finally left in 2013, I was a single mother of two, one with special needs, holding down a demanding corporate job while living with severe anxiety.

Untreated, it turned into depression. Losing my children's father to gun violence knocked me down again. What finally changed things was real treatment and learning to love myself, on purpose, every day.

Then I started talking about it. Out loud. On stages, on campaign trails, in boardrooms. Because the stigma only works when we stay quiet.

See the work it led to

16+

years in finance and audit leadership, from PwC and Bank of America to the boardroom

20+

jurisdictions advised across an international career

DNC

youngest delegate representing New York, and a Hillary Clinton campaign surrogate

40u40

Bryant University 40 Under 40 honoree

My work

Healer. Survivor. Changer.

Healer

Mental health advocacy, self-love and ending stigma.

  • Featured speaker, Bermuda Ministry of Health's first Mental Health Anti-Stigma Campaign (5 events, May 2025)
  • Self-Care and Self-Compassion workshop for NAMI
  • Staten Island Mental Health Fair with Assemblyman Charles Fall
  • Guest on Community Conversations with Dr. Jeff Gardere

Survivor

Domestic violence awareness and standing with survivors.

  • Keynote at the RAINN benefit hosted by Anna Wintour, sponsored by Condé Nast
  • Guest speaker, March for Black Women, NYC
  • Domestic Violence Awareness event, Ross University
  • WeSpeak and Centre Against Abuse panel

Changer

Politics, diversity and inclusion, and healthier workplaces.

  • Resiliency talk, Institute of Internal Auditors virtual conference
  • Guest speaker, Young Elected Officials Women's Conference
  • Co-host, Politricks Podcast
  • Founder of Releef, a workplace wellbeing advisory

Speaking

Talks that make people feel seen, then act.

I speak from both sides of the table: as someone who has lived through it, and as a finance and audit leader who knows what organizations actually measure. Keynotes, workshops, panels and podcasts.

01

Breaking the stigma

My story with anxiety and depression, and what actually helped.

02

Surviving and rebuilding

Leaving abuse, starting over, and how to support someone who's in it.

03

Why work feels broken

Burnout, workload and wellbeing, seen from inside leadership.

04

Resilience under pressure

For high achievers in finance, audit and other demanding careers.

Moments

Maxine speaking into a microphone on stage at a campaign rally
Speaking at a 2016 presidential campaign rally
Maxine standing between Anna Wintour and a model at an evening event
With Anna Wintour at the Tina Turner Musical benefit, sponsored by Condé Nast
Maxine speaking at a white podium in a beaded dress
Speaking at the Tina Turner Musical benefit for RAINN, sponsored by Condé Nast
Maxine standing with Hillary Clinton in front of an American flag
With Hillary Clinton as a campaign surrogate
Maxine speaking through a megaphone outdoors, in black and white
March for Black Women, New York City
Maxine presenting in front of a slide on practicing self-love
Self-love workshop, YEO Women's Conference
Maxine leading a workshop next to a whiteboard titled Elephant in the Room
Leading "Elephant in the Room," a workshop on talking about mental health
Maxine seated with four other panelists on a stage
Mental health panel, Bermuda Ministry of Health anti-stigma campaign
Maxine seated on a panel at an Institute of Internal Auditors event
Panelist, Institute of Internal Auditors Bermuda
Maxine standing beside a NAMI New York City Metro table
With NAMI New York City Metro
Maxine wearing headphones at a microphone in a recording studio
In the studio for a podcast interview
Maxine waving to a crowd on stage beside Hillary Clinton
On stage with Hillary Clinton

Featured in

Press

BustleWho is Maxine Outerbridge? Hillary Clinton's debate guest has a compelling life story Refinery29 · 2016Hillary Clinton's powerful message to young women Black EnterpriseAn urgent message for millennials from a former Hillary Clinton surrogate VogueAnna Wintour hosts a Friday night fundraiser for RAINN

Now building

Releef

A personal and organizational wellbeing advisory. I help companies fix the human side of work, and help professionals figure out what's next when work stops working.

Workplace wellbeing for organizations 9 to Freedom: plan your exit from the 9 to 5

Book me

Let's talk.

Keynotes, workshops, panels, podcasts and media. Tell me about your event and I'll get back to you.

Maxine@getreleef.com