Chandra Brown
Vice President, Oregon Iron Works, Inc.
President, United Streetcar LLC
Topic: The Creation of New Manufacturing Industries
Ms. Brown has worked for Oregon Iron Works, Inc. (OIW) for over 15 years and has held a variety of positions during her tenure with the company. She is currently President of a newly created subsidiary of OIW called United Streetcar, dedicated to offering American built streetcars throughout the United States.
As OIW’s Vice President, she is responsible for overall business development and marketing activities. She is also the primary point of contact for all Government Relations activities on behalf of OIW in the Pacific Northwest and Washington, D.C. She has assisted in raising OIW’s profile to be one of the 10 Overall Most Admired Companies in Oregon as published in the Portland Business Journal.
In addition to her work at OIW/United Streetcar, Ms. Brown serves on many non-profit boards and does community volunteer work. In August 2010 she was appointed to serve on the U.S. Manufacturing Council by Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. In February 2010 she was nominated and appointed to the Oregon Business Development Commission by Oregon Governor Kulongoski. She was also appointed by the Governor to serve on the Oregon Innovation Council.
She is on the board of directors and chair’s the Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition, which is a non-profit for the advancement of defense work in the region. She is a founding member and on the board of the Oregon Wave Energy Trust, a non-profit with the goal of promoting the emerging wave energy industry to create jobs and economic development opportunities in the U.S. She also serves on an arts advocacy board, the Creative Advocacy Network, the Oregon Women’s MBA board, and is a member of the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry’s gala committee. Other volunteer work includes participating in SOLV’s beach clean up and, in the past, she has volunteered with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office as a rape victim advocate.
In 2005, Ms. Brown was selected as one of Oregon Business Magazine’s Top 50 Business Leaders in the state. In 2006, Ms Brown was selected to be a member of the Leadership Portland Class through the Portland Business Alliance and in 2007 she was named one of the Portland Business Journal’s Forty under 40 leaders in the state. Most recently she was named one of the Top 20 People to Watch in 2008.
Ms. Brown received a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and an M.B.A. in International Marketing from Miami University. She successfully completed both degrees in four years and was a distinguished academic member of the Honors College.
Currently she lives in a historic 90+ year old house in Southeast Portland and enjoys international travel as well as scuba diving, snowboarding, camping, Sudoku, and wine.
Professional Affiliations:
U.S. Manufacturing Council – Member
Oregon Business Development Commission – Board Member
Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition – Chair/Board of Directors
Oregon Wave Energy Trust – Founder & Board Member
Oregon Innovation Council – Member & Chair of Communications Committee (appointed by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski)
Creative Advocacy Network – Board Member
Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition – Board Member
Oregon Museum of Science & Industry – Gala Board Member
Oregon Women’s MBA – Board Member
Act for Art Regional Steering Committee – Member
Portland Business Alliance – Member – Leadership Class of 2007
Community Streetcar Coalition – Member
Manufacturing 21 – Member
