Brisby seeks to continue renaissance of Bryan as Place 6 Council Member

Ethan Brisby, 33 is an author, community development supporter, and emerging real estate professional. Brisby was born in Bryan, Texas to Frank Brisby and Rose Williams (now Thompson) on September 8, 1982, and is a proud member of Bryan High School’s Class of 2001. He is the oldest of five children between his mother and father, but the only child they have together. The Texas A&M alumnus is the father of Kavian Brisby, 12, and considers his son his “why” when discussing his motivation to leave a legacy and be an example for how someone can get from where they are now to where they want to be.

Ethan or “EJ” as he is known by his close friends and family is long considered a leader and go-to-guy. His working and service career spans 18 years, and began at a McDonald’s located in the Briarcrest Wal Mart Super Center in 1998. Prior to moving to Atlanta, Georgia at 25 to enroll at Morehouse College in 2008, Brisby earned a promotion at every position he held as a teen and in his early 20s (McDonald’s, Briarcrest Pizza Hut, Finish Line in Post Oak Mall, Citibank in downtown Bryan), which speaks to his work ethic and leadership skills. He spent one year at Blinn College before transferring to Atlanta.

While in Atlanta as an undergrad, Brisby worked as a Legislative Intern for two sessions at the Georgia General Assembly; one session with Representative J. Craig Gordon of Savannah, GA and one session with Representative Rhan Mayo of Decatur, GA.He also worked for the Atlanta University Center Community Development Corporation where he helped the organization acquire foreclosed properties by working hand and hand with community stakeholders in Neighborhood Planning Unit-T. 

Brisby, an avid writer and researcher completed his undergraduate studies in Urban Studies with a minor in City

Planning prior to being recruited to the Master’s in Land & Property Development program at Texas A&M University. While studying at A&M, he wrote and published, “5 Proven Strategies on How to Pay for College” as a way to share his success story with other like-minded people and organizations seeking to help first generation college students navigate their way through paying for college.

As a student at Texas A&M, Ethan went on to become a 2011 finalist at the prestigious May’s Business School Idea’s Competition, where he presented his Team SHIFT concept plan to investors. In the summer of 2011, he went on to incorporate Team SHIFT, Inc as a way to help Brazos Valley area youth and young adults get from where they are now to where they want to be. Created in 2010 as an internship project, Team SHIFT is a means to help youth prepare for college, develop financial literacy, serve in their communities, generate a five year plan for their lives, and encourage entrepreneurism.

He went on to successfully lead a team that would partner his SHIFT Enterprise Academy curriculum with City of Bryan Youth & Neighborhood Services (2011, 2012), Bryan ISD’s GEAR UP Program (2011, 2012) and the Boys and Girls Club (2011). He later concentrated more on public speaking than training from 2013-2015, but Brisby plans to re-establish SHIFT moving forward as a means of social responsibility to compliment his business accomplishments.

Ethan is very active with the Bank on Brazos Outreach Committee. Bank on Brazos helps area residents open an account with a bank or credit union and begin saving for the future. The Outreach Committee partners with local organizations to provide financial literacy programming. Brisby is a helpful link for these ongoing efforts. Similarly, he currently is in his second term as member of the City of Bryan Community Development Advisory Committee, which oversees about $1M annually in Community Development Block Grant funds distributed to local non-profits and affordable housing projects. Most notably, Brisby worked with more than 25 local stakeholders to develop the strategic plan that would eventually lead to the passage of the largest school bond in Brazos County history as a member of the Bryan ISD Strategic Planning Committee (2012-2015).  

In 2006, Brisby completed the Bryan Leadership Academy and in 2013 was selected to participate in Leadership Austin’s Emerge program for high performing young professionals. The lists of organizations Brisby has served or become a member since returning to Texas in 2010 include the Austin Area Urban League Young Professionals (Citizen of Year-Nominee, 2013), Urban Land Institute, Real Estate Development Association, National Association of Realtors, Texas Association of Realtors, and Bryan/College Station Association of Realtors.

From August 2014 to July 2015, the East Bryan native served in the capacity of Vice President of Lending & Counseling Operations at the Brazos Valley Affordable Housing Corporation, a subsidiary of the Brazos Valley Council of Governments. In this role, Brisby led homeownership courses and counseled more than 150 low to moderate low income families on best practices for credit building.

In addition to working to increase homeownership among low to moderately low-income households in Bryan, Brisby helped to broker partnerships with the City of Bryan, Bryan ISD, Kent Moore Cabinets, Neutral Posture, Bryan Housing Authority, and Project Unity among others for the Affordable Small Dollar Loan Program, an alternative lending option to pay day and auto title lenders.

In July 2015, Brisby transitioned full-time into working as a small business consultant and real estate entrepreneur. The former Bryan Viking baseball player is licensed as a Realtor ® by the Texas Real Estate Commission and Residential Mortgage Loan Officer by the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending. His academic research focuses on economic and inner city redevelopment as well as social capital building among people from different walks of life.

He is the former host of Word on the Street (2004-2007) which aired on KEOS radio and promoted his first community event in 2004, the Juneteenth Traditional, an alumni basketball game featuring top athletes from Bryan High School as part of the traditional Juneteenth celebration in Bryan.  Since then, Ethan has successfully planned and executed several recreational and community development events in Bryan, Atlanta, and Austin including basketball tournaments, community forums, festivals, and training workshops.

His journey from Bryan to Atlanta back to Bryan to Austin and back to Bryan over the past 7+ years is documented on his blog (www.ethanbrisby.blogspot.com) and Youtube Page (www.youtube.com/ethanbrisby). Those who know his story, know he faced many obstacles, but beat the odds. He is an example of what America can be when people living in poverty learn how to navigate the free enterprise system.

When asked about his accomplishments and setbacks to this point, Brisby sharply responds with, “I would rather be the warrior in the ring being scared and battling than the person on the sideline pointing fingers anytime.”

Ethan Brisby is a candidate for Place 6 City Council in Bryan, Texas and ask for your support as he hopes to attract private investment into the city for workforce development and financial literacy programming as well as small business development funding for business expansion and attraction. He also hopes to help Bryan realize an increase in first-time home buyers among low to moderately low income families by encouraging affordable housing development projects.