Mariatu Tu Browne is a first-generation doctoral scholar, licensed cosmetologist, business professor, and social entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the beauty industry and higher education.
Born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and raised in the United States, she built her career through resilience, education, and entrepreneurship. What began as braiding hair evolved into founding multi-state salon operations and launching a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to cosmetology education and entrepreneurship for underserved women.
She is the Founder and CEO of Tu Organics LLC, operating sustainable beauty salons in California and Nevada, and the Founder of Tu Organics Foundation, which supports survivors of trauma and women rebuilding their lives through vocational and entrepreneurial training.
Mariatu previously served as a cosmetology instructor at Riverside City College from January 2019 to May 2022 and later as an Adjunct Business Professor at Chaffey College, where she taught entrepreneurship, marketing, and small business management, preparing the next generation of founders. She is concluding her contract at Chaffey College in May 2024 to focus fully on expanding her impact through the development of her cosmetology school and the growth of Tu Organics Foundation.
She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration at the University of La Verne, where her research focuses on modernizing cosmetology education through entrepreneurship integration, textured-hair competency, workforce readiness, and economic empowerment.
Her mission is to transform beauty education from job training into legacy-building.
Author of Tu Success! A Journey from Pain to Purpose
SBA Inland Empire Micro-Business Award Recipient
Chaffey College Alumni of the Year
Entrepreneurship | Vocational Education Reform | Women’s Economic Mobility | Inclusive Beauty Innovation