Brigham McCown

McCown grew up in rural southern Ohio, graduating from Ironton High School in 1984.{{Cite web |author=Staff Reports |date=2003-08-05 |title=Ironton native named chief counsel of DOT |url=https://irontontribune.com/2003/08/05/ironton-native-named-chief-counsel-of-dot/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=The Tribune |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=1984 |url=http://tigertown.ss16.sharpschool.com/district/alumni/ics_class_of/1980_s/1984 |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=tigertown.ss16.sharpschool.com |language=en-US}} Thereafter, he attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in diplomacy and foreign affairs and obtained a Juris Doctor degree from Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 1997.{{Cite web |title=Press Release: New Deputy Administrator Appointed {{!}} PHMSA |url=https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/news/press-release-new-deputy-administrator-appointed |access-date=2022-07-09 |website=www.phmsa.dot.gov}} In 2015, he earned a graduate certificate from Stanford University in Energy Innovation and Emerging Technologies, and in 2019, an MBA from the College of William and Mary.McCown, B. (2019) Brigham McCown Curriculum Vitae. Miami University. http://www.fsb.miamioh.edu/fsb/directory/vita/mccownba.pdf

McCown serves as a [https://www.hudson.org/experts/1473-brigham-mccown Senior Fellow] at the Hudson Institute in Washington, a position he has held since 2022. He most recently served as president of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company{{Cite web |date=2020-01-04 |title=Brigham McCown Named President of Alyeska Pipeline |url=https://www.akbizmag.com/right-moves/brigham-mccown-named-president-of-alyeska-pipeline/ |access-date=2020-12-13 |website=Alaska Business Magazine |language=en-US}} stepping down from this role in January 2022 after apparent disagreements with the company's new board.{{Cite web |date=February 1, 2022 |first=Alex |last=DeMarban |title=Head of Alyeska pipeline steps down |url=https://www.adn.com/business-economy/energy/2022/01/31/head-of-alyeska-pipeline-steps-down/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Anchorage Daily News |language=en}}

McCown served as an advisor to the 2016 presidential transition as a core member of the president-elect Donald Trump's infrastructure policy and agency action teams.{{Cite web |last=Malloy |first=David E. |title=Ironton native named to Trump transition team |url=https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/ironton-native-named-to-trump-transition-team/article_bf6a9545-1bd1-5506-8a7a-d0025d917486.html |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=The Herald-Dispatch |language=en}} He then served as a senior advisor to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao (R-KY) during her initial days in office but declined a permanent appointment.{{Cite web |title=Brigham McCown - Episode 221 |url=https://alaskalandmine.podbean.com/e/brigham-mccown-episode-221/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=alaskalandmine.podbean.com |language=en}}

Until 2007, McCown served in several leadership roles during both terms of George W. Bush's presidency in Washington D.C. Appointed initially to the U.S. Senior Executive Service by Democratic Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, (D-CA)http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_EF9F7C268404EB5596E46F59F2F3B3DF86320900/filename/PHMSAFocusFall05.pdf{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} he was later reappointed by Republican Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, (R-AZ). McCown initially worked as the first chief counsel (general counsel) of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), where he was responsible for legal oversight of the nation's trucking, motor coach, moving industry{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/09/06/dobbs.ff.9.6/index.html|title=Tonight's facts|publisher=CNN|access-date=14 February 2015}} and NAFTA.{{cite web|url=http://www.martindale.com/transportation-law/article_Hunton-Williams-LLP_424118.htm|title=U.S. Department of Transportation Sets Aggressive New Fuel Economy Targets|publisher=Martindale.com|accessdate=14 February 2015}} During this time, he advocated for stronger truck and bus safety regulations, including better oversight of the commercial bus industry and the requirement for all buses to be equipped with seat belts.{{cite web|url=http://us.cnn.com/2007/US/09/06/dobbs.ff.9.6/index.html|title=Tonight's facts|publisher=Us.cnn.com|accessdate=14 February 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/1118biz-trucks1118.html|title=Barriers for Mexican trucks questioned|publisher=Azcentral.com|accessdate=14 February 2015}}

Mineta then appointed McCown to become the first acting administrator and first deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).{{Cite web |title=Press Release: New Deputy Administrator Appointed {{!}} PHMSA |url=https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/news/press-release-new-deputy-administrator-appointed |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=www.phmsa.dot.gov}} During his tenure he was responsible for oversight of over one million daily shipments of hazardous materials by land, sea, and air including the nation's 2.6 million miles of pipelines. McCown was instrumental in restoring national critical infrastructure following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and received the department's highest award (gold medal) for his actions while operating under a secretarial designation. He also oversaw the government's initial response to the largest [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11743346 oil spill on Alaska's North Slope] and implemented the [https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/comm/DamagePrevention.htm?nocache=5856 one call] damage prevention program known as "811".{{Cite web|url=http://call811.com|title=Call 811|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}{{Cite web |title=An Update on the Successes of the Department's Pipeline Safety Program |url=https://www.transportation.gov/testimony/update-successes-department%E2%80%99s-pipeline-safety-program |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=www.transportation.gov}} While serving as the country's chief energy transportation regulator, McCown was first to raise concerns over the country's aging pipeline infrastructure network but was also avid in his support of pipelines over other transport methods. He has continued to advance safety and has called for tougher standards following gas pipeline incidents in San Bruno, California,{{Cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Rebecca |last2=Woo |first2=Stu |date=2010-09-13 |title=Calls for Action Emerge After Gas Explosion |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704190704575490151786040796 |access-date=2022-03-23 |issn=0099-9660}} and Dallas, Texas.{{Cite web |date=2018-03-02 |title=I-Team: Former US DOT Safety Administrator Says Atmos Slow To Replace Old Pipes |website=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/i-team-former-us-dot-safety-administrator-says-atmos-slow-to-replace-old-pipes/ |access-date=2022-03-23 |language=en-US}}

He was also one of the first experts to [http://www.crompion.com/news/Bloomberg%20BNA_TankCarDesignDebateSplitOverSafetyofVoluntaryIndustryStandard_5.18.14.pdf call for the phasing out] older rail cars transporting crude oil known as DOT-111 tank cars.{{Cite web |title=Tank Car Design Debate Split OverSafety of Voluntary Industry Standard |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/tank-car-design-debate-split-over-safety-of-voluntary-industry-standard |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=news.bloomberglaw.com |language=en}}

From 1988 to 1998 McCown served on active duty as a U.S. naval officer and as a naval aviator{{Cite web|url=http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2005/NAV05248.txt|title=Public Navy Records|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011200224/http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2005/NAV05248.txt|archivedate=2016-10-11}} and participated in worldwide deployments including Operation Desert Storm and Operation Uphold Democracy. From 1998 until his retirement in 2013, McCown served as a member of the active ready reserve with assignments in Europe, Africa, and Asia including Operation Unified Assistance.

Since retiring from federal service, McCown served as the Chairman and CEO of Nouveau, a consulting and advisory firm based in Dallas, Texas. He previously served on the Southlake, Texas Planning & Zoning Commission{{Cite web |date=15 February 2011 |title=Economic Development and Tourism Strategy |url=https://www.cityofsouthlake.com/DocumentCenter/View/631/EDT-Strategic-Plan?bidId= |website=cityofsouthlake.com}} where he notably voted against a new natural gas pipeline within the city's limits.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

He board participation include vice chair (regulatory and legal subcommittee) of the federal government's Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, a member of the Salmon P. Chase College of Law's Board of Visitors, Co-Chair of the American Bar Association's Transportation Committee of the Administrative and Regulatory Law Section,{{cite web |url=http://apps.americanbar.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=AL326000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409022905/http://apps.americanbar.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=AL326000 |archive-date=2014-04-09 |title=Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice: Transportation Committee}} a Program Council Member for the Warsaw Security Forum,{{cite web |url=http://warsawsecurityforum.org/?person_category=program_council |title=Archived Document |accessdate=2015-12-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222095230/http://warsawsecurityforum.org/?person_category=program_council |archivedate=2015-12-22 }} a member of Europe's Pipeline Technology Conference [https://www.pipeline-conference.com/advisory-committee safety advisory committee], founder and board member of the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure,{{Cite web|title=Home|url=https://www.aii.org/|access-date=2020-12-13|website=Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure|language=en-US}} and a Fellow of the American Bar Association Foundation.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://aii.org/ Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure]

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Category:Living people

Category:1966 births

Category:People from Ironton, Ohio

Category:Miami University alumni

Category:Northern Kentucky University alumni

Category:United States Navy officers

Category:United States Department of Transportation officials

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Category:Florida lawyers

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Category:George W. Bush administration personnel