Brigham McCown

 

Brigham A. McCown has more than 25 years of executive management, legal, and operational experience at the local, national, and international levels of government.  Mr. McCown primarily advises private sector clients in matters pertaining to federal security and safety regulations, government enforcement of regulated industries and risk mitigation, including areas relating to crisis response and complex private sector litigation.

Prior to 2007, McCown served as a member of the United States Senior Executive Service during both terms of George W. Bush’s presidency. Appointed by Transportation Secretary, Norman Y. Mineta (D-CA), McCown helped shape the nation’s laws, regulations and policies pertaining to transportation safety and security for the surface, maritime, pipeline, rail, and aviation industries.

During his tenure, Mr. McCown served as the first acting administrator and interim CEO of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). While in this position, McCown was in charge of the federal governments oversight of more than one million daily shipments of hazardous materials by all modes of transportation, including pipeline.

It was also during his time with PHMSA that he was given the task of coordinating the federal government’s response to the largest oil spill on Alaska’s North Slope. He also helped oversee the restoration process of the Gulf Coast’s energy infrastructure following Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. He helped author the PIPES Act of 2006 which improved safety and increased government oversight of the pipeline industry while also providing additional operational flexibility to pipeline operators.

Mr. McCown also served as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s first chief counsel. While managing a staff of 55 attorneys, legislative affairs specialists and support staff, Mr. McCown was responsible for ensuring implementation of the nation’s laws and regulations for the motor carrier, motor coach, and moving industries.

He is currently a contributor to Forbes, National Journal, Huffington Post, and FuelFix on matters pertaining to transportation and energy. Mr. McCown graduated from Miami University in 1988 with a degree in diplomacy and foreign affairs and later went on to receive his law degree from Northern Kentucky University in 1997. He also currently serves his alma mater on the Board of Visitors at the Salmon P. Chase College of Law, and is the Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Administrative and Regulatory Law Section and Transportation Committee.

Mr. McCown recently finished a professional certificate program at Stanford University on Energy Innovation and Emerging Technologies. The program included coursework on innovative renewable technologies as well as energy trends for the future of the energy industry.