Ryan J. Brown

Ryan J. Brown, Director of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, is the 2026 Recipient of the McCarthy Award for LEadership in Environmental Conflict Resolution. For the better part of the last decade, Brown has led the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources as its Executive Director, establishing his role as a leader and mentor to many.  

Director Brown began his career in natural resources with the Office of the Attorney General, representing the Departments of Conservation and Recreation, Environmental Quality, Forestry and Game & Inland Fisheries.  He was then brought on to the staff of the Department of Conservation and Recreation as Policy and Planning Assistant Director, and also served as Interim Director of Dam Safety.  He supported the agency during a time of significant change, including comprehensive regulatory rewrites of the Dam Safety regulations and Virginia Stormwater Management Program regulations.  He provided calm and effective assistance on questions of law and policy, while demonstrating an innate ability to smooth disagreements and develop consensus among stakeholders.    

Later, Ryan went on to other roles with what was then named the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. He served as Legislative & Policy Manager, representing the agency before the General Assembly and taking on many of the agency’s most contentious topics, including fox penning, hunting with hounds, and the re-introduction of elk to southwest Virginia.  He then served as a member of DGIF’s supervisory board, chairing the Wildlife, Boat, and Law Enforcement Committee, which hears most of the agency’s regulatory and wildlife policy actions.  

Director Brown has taken the responsibility of Executive Director with ease, tirelessly leading his community and peers through challenges and successes. In times of crises, when federal protections for migratory birds were being rolled back, Brown ensured Virginia maintained its protection policies. Under Brown’s leadership, the Department of Wildlife Resources was named the “State Agency of the Year” in 2023, after demonstrating the power of transparency and fairness.  

Director Brown also represents Virginia’s interests in the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, a national organization that advances science-based management and conservation practices of fish, wildlife, and habitats in the public interest. He has served on the US delegation to the 19th and 20th Councils of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). He currently serves as the President of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and he chairs the Executive Committee of the Association of International Relations and Fall Flights. 

Ryan Brown is a principled, hard-working and honest man who serves as a role model for transparent leadership. His longstanding commitment to collaboration and transparency has helped protect Virginia’s natural resources, leaving a lasting legacy for our future generations.