Kamari Brewer
Kamari Brewer is a dynamic nonprofit leader with more than 20 years of experience developing people, programs, and partnerships that drive lasting change. She currently serves as Executive Director of Atlas Scholars, where she is guiding the organization’s growth and advancing its mission to connect high school students with mentors, industry leaders, and opportunities that expand their vision of what’s possible.
Her career journey includes serving as Chief Program Officer at The Council on Recovery, where she strengthened organizational capacity and expanded access to services, and as Director of The Posse Foundation in Houston, where she cultivated cross-sector partnerships to empower diverse young leaders with scholarships, mentoring, and leadership development. She also spent nearly a decade at Baylor College of Medicine, building innovative, community-based youth programs.
Kamari’s leadership is anchored in her commitment to equity, justice, and inclusion. She is known for her ability to align vision with action - inspiring teams, nurturing partnerships, and creating pathways for sustainable growth. She often turns to the wisdom of Audre Lorde: “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”
Beyond her professional work, Kamari serves as Vice Chair of the President’s Advisory Council at Carleton College, Mission Team Lead at Holy Family HTX, and a volunteer with the San Jacinto Girl Scout Council. She is also a proud recipient of the Ervan Chew Award. She holds an MSW from the University of Texas at Austin and a BS from Texas A&M University.
When she’s not leading change, you’ll likely find Kamari laughing with her kids, racking up miles on her rowing machine, puzzling her way through a new challenge, or planning her next travel adventure.
For me, the work of Atlas Scholars is deeply personal because I have seen how profoundly a single opportunity—or the absence of one—can shape a young person’s life trajectory. Talent is universal, but opportunity is not. Too many students in Houston grow up believing that certain careers, networks, or futures are “not for them,” not because of a lack of ability or ambition, but because no one has helped open the door.
I believe economic mobility is one of the most transformative levers of social change. When a young person gains meaningful mentorship, professional exposure, and the confidence to imagine themselves in a thriving-wage career, it doesn’t just lift one individual—it lifts families, reshapes communities, and interrupts cycles of poverty that have persisted for generations.
Working with Atlas Scholars allows me to invest directly in those pivotal moments that change lives: the first time a student sees themselves thriving in a professional environment; the first time they present confidently to industry leaders; the moment they realize that their background does not limit their future. These moments accumulate into long-term impact.
I am committed to this work because I have witnessed its power. Our Scholars rise—not because we give them a path, but because we help them see and access paths that were always within their reach. Supporting economic mobility is not just an economic issue; it is an issue of dignity, justice, and human potential. That is why I believe so strongly in the mission of Atlas Scholars and in the importance of partnering with programs like Rice LRME to continue expanding opportunity for the next generation.
