Scholarships Set Couple on Path to UVA

Attending the University of Virginia so transformed the lives of Carlos M. Brown and Tamara Charity-Brown that they are on a mission to pay it forward.

Growing up in rural Chesapeake, Virginia, in what he describes as difficult circumstances, Carlos, a 1999 Law School graduate, had hoped to attend Morehouse College. Tamara, a 2001 Medical School graduate, grew up in Franklin, Virginia, and thought she would attend Spelman College.

But as each excelled during high school, UVA offered them Achievement Awards, full-tuition scholarships created to add to the diversity of the student body by supporting Virginians who demonstrate outstanding leadership and character while overcoming personal hardship.

“That scholarship created an opportunity for me,” said Carlos, “as did the others I received. They empowered me to be involved in the community; I did not have to work all the time to earn money.”

Enrolling in the College of Arts & Sciences as Echols Scholars, they took full advantage of the found time their scholarships allowed them. Carlos served as president of the Student Council and the student body. Tamara was chair of the Office of African-American Affairs Peer Advisor Program and a Student Council representative.

The two met on Grounds in 1995 and continued to date throughout their undergraduate years, with Carlos graduating in 1996 and Tamara following one year later. Carlos, who earned a Dillard Scholarship to attend UVA Law, proposed during his 1L year. The couple married when he was in his final semester at the Law School and Tamara was in medical school.

As they embarked on their careers, Carlos practiced with Richmond firms while Tamara became a pediatrician.

A few years and two children later, Carlos started a private equity business before joining Dominion Energy in 2007, where he is now senior vice president, chief legal officer, and general counsel. Now with four children, the couple continues to make room in their busy schedules to give back to the community. Carlos volunteers on transportation and education issues. “The company’s been good to me,” Carlos said. “They understand and appreciate that to bring my best self to work, I must engage with the community. It is just part of the ethos of who I am.”

Appointed to UVA’s Board of Visitors in 2021, he started his term as vice rector this year. Tamara runs her pediatric practice in Henrico and is president of her local Jack and Jill chapter, volunteering in the youth development and child wellness arenas.

As Double Hoos, Carlos and Tamara started giving back to UVA. “Both of us come from backgrounds where it’s expected—those to whom much is given, much is expected,” Carlos said. “The first thing you give is time because that is all you have. Then, when you are blessed to have other resources, you do that too.”

In addition to supporting their respective schools, they also gave to the Ridley Scholarship Program, a program administered by the UVA Alumni Association that seeks to attract Black students of the highest academic caliber to UVA. Then they helped fund the University’s Memorial for Enslaved Laborers, which began with a student-led effort in 2010 to acknowledge and honor the 4,000 or more individuals who built and maintained the University.

Most recently, they focused their efforts on the Law School, creating the Carlos M. Brown ’99 and Tamara A. Charity-Brown, M.D., Bicentennial Scholarship. The scholarship received matching funds through the University’s Bicentennial Scholarship Fund.

“I have never forgotten that the support of scholarships from people I did not know, whom I had never met, allowed me the opportunity and flexibility to maximize my experience,” Carlos said. “These scholarships were life-changing.”

“Carlos and Tamara’s scholarship helps us to recruit the most talented students from every background, regardless of their means,” said Dean Risa Goluboff. “Their support is fundamental to our students’ freedom to choose the career paths they dream of rather than those dictated by financial considerations. I am incredibly grateful for their generosity and commitment to the Law School and its students.”

Carlos said he hopes the Law School continues to be a “premier public institution of legal education.”

“I am very proud this school is here, in the commonwealth and serves as an example that you can maintain a high level of educational quality while being as diverse and inclusive—both intellectually and demographically—as we are. I hope we are an example of what is possible in the commonwealth and beyond,” he added.