From 1973 to 1974, Brown was assistant professor of biological sciences at
Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. During law school, he held summer and consulting positions with the
Environmental Protection Agency (1974),
Council on Environmental Quality (1975), and the
Department of the Interior (1976–77). In 1977, Brown was appointed executive secretary of the U.S. Endangered Species Scientific Authority, overseeing treaty commitments for
wildlife trade. In 1980, he was appointed executive secretary of the International Convention Advisory Commission, with similar responsibilities. Brown left government in 1981 with a change in administration, In 1985, Brown joined
Waste Management, Inc. and was vice president for environmental planning and programs and the first chairman of the firm's executive environmental committee. He advocated protection of biological diversity and limiting waste exports to developing countries. Brown left WMI in October 1994 and worked as a consultant, first with Hagler Bailly Consulting as a principal and later with the
World Wildlife Fund as a senior fellow. Brown served with U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Bruce Babbitt as science advisor from April 1997 until January 2001. There, he advocated, wrote and negotiated executive orders for
coral reef protection and
invasive species management issued by President
William Clinton and orders of Secretary Bruce Babbitt establishing marine national wildlife refuges for
Navassa Island off Haiti and
Palmyra Atoll and
Kingman Reef south of Hawaii. On leaving the government with a change in administration, he served as vice president for oceans and science policy at the
National Audubon Society before being recruited by the
Bishop Museum, where he served as president and CEO from October 2001 to January 2007. He is credited with stabilizing the museum both financially and politically, improving attendance and successfully undertaking several expansions and renovations. He served as president and CEO of the
Academy of Natural Sciences from February 2007 to January 2010. He served as president and CEO of the
Woods Hole Research Center from February 2010 to January 2011. He was a nonresident senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution from June 2011 until November 2013, when he was appointed the chief environmental officer of the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. He served in that position until June 2024 and was appointed a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in October 2024. Brown has written articles published by the council addressing AI and NEPA, deep sea mining, energy and minerals in the Atlantic, and engaging AI for development in Africa. ==References==