William Y. Brown

William Y. Brown is a nonresident senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution.

He is a zoologist and lawyer with a distinguished career as a leader and advocate for environmental issues and for scientific and cultural institutions. He has dedicated his career in government, non-profit organizations and the private sector to advancing science, education, and policy for a healthy, sustainable world.

Previously, he was president and CEO of the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) in Massachusetts, an institution known globally for its application of the latest technology to address global ecosystem issues. Before moving to Woods Hole, Dr. Brown was president and CEO of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, helping to raise new funds and start new programs, and from 2001 to 2007 he was president and CEO of the Bishop Museum in Hawaii where he was instrumental in achieving new support for the museum’s programs, led construction of a new 20,000 square foot science education center, and secured a Native Hawaiian majority and leadership on the museum's board.

Dr. Brown was science advisor to Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt during the Clinton Administration. While there, Dr. Brown provided leadership on science and policy, including science funding for the department, ocean and coral reef protection, invasive species management, and biotechnology policy. Following that appointment, he served as vice president for Oceans and Science Policy at the National Audubon Society before being recruited by the Bishop Museum.

Other positions held by Brown have included: vice president of Waste Management, Inc., the world's largest waste management company, where he chaired the company's executive environmental committee and developed a comprehensive corporate environmental policy and many initiatives for implementation of the policy worldwide; assistant professor of biological sciences at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts; executive secretary of the U.S. Endangered Species Scientific Authority, overseeing treaty commitments for wildlife trade; senior scientist and acting executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Dr. Brown was born in Artesia, California, in 1948, and graduated from high school in Brazil at the Escola Americana do Recife. He later graduated from the University of Virginia (BA 1969, Biology, with highest distinction), Johns Hopkins University (MAT, 1970), the University of Hawaii where he was an NSF Graduate Fellow (PhD, 1973, Zoology), and Harvard Law School (JD, 1977).