Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown was a retreat leader, speaker, spiritual companion, and professor emerita of psychology at Agnes Scott College. With a BA from the University of California-Santa Cruz, a PhD from Harvard University, and a certificate from Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, Brown frequently spoke on contemplative spirituality and Howard Thurman. Brown was the author of numerous articles, essays, an edited volume, and When the Heart Speaks, Listen: Discovering Inner Wisdom. She was been featured in PBS documentaries about Howard Thurman and the Black church. She lived in Stone Mountain, Georgia.