Director: Chad Brown

Chad Brown is an accomplished documentary-adventure photographer, filmmaker, and conservationist. He is also the founder and president of two non-profit organizations and a veteran of the US Navy. 

Chad’s work focuses on outdoor adventure travel, documenting threatened wild spaces and BIPOC communities. 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. He advocates for social and environmental justice through his striking documentary portraits and photographic exhibitions/films.  

Chad studied communication design and photography at American Intercontinental University. From there, he attended Pratt Institute in New York City, earning his Master of Science in Communication Design degree.  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. 

In 2021, Chad founded Love is King, a non-profit organization that focuses on welcoming access, safety, and healing in the outdoors for BIPOC communities and other under-served voices. 

Chad’s film Chandalar screened at Wild & Scenic in 2019.