Stephani Brownlee: A Story of How to Give Back

It wasn’t enough that, despite a childhood full of challenges, Stax Music Academy graduate Stephani Brownlee earned a full-tuition scholarship to Brown University, where she got her undergraduate degree. It wasn’t enough that she got her first master’s degree from Florida State University in forensic science. It wasn’t enough that she worked during her summers home at the Buckman Laboratory testing chemicals.  It wasn’t enough that she moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the Department of Homeland Security. It wasn’t enough that she is now working on her second master’s degree, this time from Harvard. 

All that wasn’t enough  – with security clearances, studies, and moving back to Memphis to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic – so she started her own marketing company, Mokup Digital Media & Marketing, soon expanding it with Mokup Kidz Company. All of that landed her a profile in Forbes magazine in 2022.

It wasn’t enough that she is also the only former Soulsville Charter School student ever to be invited back to give the graduation keynote speech, which she delivered in 2019 at Brown Baptist Church in front of thousands of people.

Now, Stephani has branched into the realm of philanthropy,  recently launching her own nonprofit organization, the Brownlee Family Foundation. Its mission is to enable youth in need to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens by providing educational, financial, and life-impacting resources to communities. 

Chosen as an honoree for this year’s Super Women in Business Awards presented by the Memphis Business Journal, Stephani has already set up a scholarship to pay for a student to attend the Stax Music Academy (where she became an awesome keyboard player!) and a stipend for The Soulsville Charter School valedictorian this year.

We wish Stephani every ounce of good luck imaginable in her journey from student to businesswoman, to giving back to the communities that supported her along her journey.

To visit Stephani’s Brownlee Family Foundation website, please click HERE.