Chad Brown is an accomplished documentary-style portrait and adventure photographer, creative 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 people of these lands.
He is deeply interested in capturing moments of passion and the human spirit. Through his striking documentary portraits and photographic exhibitions, he advocates for social and environmental justice. His photos are intense, raw, stylized images with a bold approach, 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.
My name is Yanett Garcia Chavez. I currently attend Portland State University and will be majoring in Criminal Justice & Criminology with a minor in Psychology. I am the oldest of my family and have 4 siblings! A little more about myself is that I have a massive love for nature, poetry, music, cooking, and learning! Growing up, individuals of various backgrounds always surrounded me, and in coming together, I felt safe and represented. As a young Mexican Woman, I have always held pride in my culture and in learning about others.
From that, I also have always had a huge respect for other cultures and have always loved to learn and be educated. Through my life experiences, I have seen both the good and bad that life brings. Despite it, I have persevered and shown myself how resilient I am. Fighting any fight is not easy but standing your ground and believing in yourself is essential. I will not go into detail about my personal life, but I will point out that over the years, I have been and will always be an advocate for Mental Health, personal wellness, Healing, Environmental Advocacy, Policy, Community
Building, Leadership, Etc. I have been a part of the sister organization of Love is King, Soul River Inc, for 5 seasons. I have had the honor and privilege to be a youth participant and a board member of the organization. From those experiences, I have gained the knowledge and skills to be successful not only as a participant and follower but also as a leader. As a young individual, I see myself as an instrument to help initiate conversation in terms of change, and that’s what I fully identify myself as, as a seed for potential growth and change.
Like I said in my SRI website feature in 2021, I live by the thought that I may not be a superhero, but that I am a seed. Together we are the water to germinate plants for our future. In other words, we are the leaders of tomorrow and we must grow our plants (use our voices, unite together, initiate conversation about change), to see our plants blossom in the future. Whether or not I get to live to see that change occur, I will always be beyond satisfied that I always tried to make a positive impact, was involved, and did as much as I could as the young adult leader I am. Being in Soul River for over 5 Seasons has helped me in various ways. Over the years I have grown tremendously, and I can say that I am a confident Public Speaker, who loves to discuss potential ideas, facilitate discussions, lead, and take those risks/leaps of faith that I used to be scared of.
An example of that was when I was given the opportunity to lobby in Washington, DC; for the first time, I felt like a true leader. Gathering and collaborating with individuals passionate aboutthe same thing, was so motivating. That experience allowed me to fully find my purpose and true passion.
As I aged out of the program, I wanted to continue to be a part of the organization of SRI and became a Board Member. Through time and experience, I believe I am ready to serve Love Is King in the same way I have been able to serve Soul River Inc.
Taking the position as Outreach Coordinator for Love is King would allow me to stay involved with the organization/s and serve to help the organization to continue to thrive, use my business, marketing, communication, and leadership skills to make a bigger impact on our BIPOC community. I would also be given the opportunity to work under executive directors, potential partners, and community members, and lead events for our community, such as heritage and educational events, which would allow me to expand my current skills.
