Chad Brown is an accomplished documentary-style portrait and adventure photographer, creative director, film director, and conservationist. He is also the founder and president of two non-profit organizations and a veteran of the US Navy.
Chad’s current work focuses on outdoor adventure travel and documenting threatened wild spaces. He connects the public to endangered areas by showing the true spirit of the indigenous people of these lands and telling stories focused on social justice and environmental justice tied to BIPOC communities connecting to outdoor spaces.
He is deeply interested in capturing moments of passion and the human spirit. He advocates for social and environmental justice through his striking documentary portraits and photographic exhibitions. His photos are intense, raw, stylized images with bold approaches, unique angles, and dramatic lighting.
Chad studied communication design and photography at American Intercontinental University. From there, he attended Pratt Institute in New York City where he earned his Masters of Science in Communication Design degree.
He has managed interdisciplinary teams as a creative director, art director, and photographer both as a freelance artist and for agencies. He is a former editorial photographer for the New York Times. His work has crossed into underground hip hop, fashion, and culture, where he worked with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons (founder of PhatFarm) and Rasheed Young (VP of Run Athletics) to photograph and develop creative ad campaigns for national hip-hop culture magazines.
Chad moved from New York to Portland, Oregon in 2007, where his life and career path expanded beyond the traditional creative world. His adventure photography assignments now lead him all over the world to countries like Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, as well as into the Alaskan Arctic several times a year.
Mother Nature played a significant role in his healing from the war trauma he experienced as a Navy service member. A failed suicide attempt eventually led him to launch a non-profit organization called Soul River, Inc. in 2013.
This unique organization specializes in outdoor education and cultural expeditions that Chad calls deployments. It brings at-risk youth and Veteran mentors together and takes them into threatened wild spaces, providing mission-driven experiences where advocacy and outdoor education meet.
This work has led Chad to Capitol Hill, where he advocates for our public lands and wild places. He gives youth leaders of tomorrow the opportunity to interface with Congressional members.
In 2021, Chad founded Love is King, a non-profit organization that focuses on welcome access, safety, and healing in the outdoors for BIPOC communities and other under-served voices.
He is a board member of the National Wildlife Refuge Association and Alaska Wilderness League. He has been featured on BBC and CBS, including Good Morning America and NatGeo/Disney’s Called to the Wild reality TV show, and in national publications like Outside Magazine and The Drake. He has also been featured in regional publications across the Pacific Northwest.
Chad was the first recipient of the Breaking Barriers Award presented by Orvis, and the Bending Toward Justice Award from Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley.
Learn more about Soul River, Inc. and Love is King.