Values You Believe In
We need a representative for Assembly District 43 who will fight for our community - for villages and small towns - tell the truth, and earn your respect. We need Brienne Brown, a candidate for public office who believes in clean government, working across the aisle, and making government work for you.
BRIENNE's Bio
Early Childhood
Brienne's parents met while serving in the Air Force in Vietnam - her father as a fighter pilot and her mother as a combat nurse. Brienne was born at an Air Force base in Germany, then the family moved to Iran, where her father was the Military Attaché to the Shah of Iran. Her family lived in constant danger because there was a price on her dad's head. Brienne's earliest memories in Iran include her mother shooting at an intruder who came into their home through a window, and her father hiding her under a flak jacket in the back of the car on the way to preschool. After multiple moves, (as is typically for a military family,) they eventually settled in Austin, Texas, where Brienne attended middle and high school, then college at the University of Texas at Austin.
Education
Undergraduate Studies: The University of Texas at Austin, Bachelor of Journalism, Communication and Media Studies.
Graduate Studies: The University of Texas at Austin, Completed coursework for a Masters in Health Education, Specialty area in public health and chronic disease epidemiology
Early work
After graduating with her degree in Journalism, Communication and Media Studies, (with a minor in Spanish) Brienne went to work at Stratfor.com - one of the first online magazines. They specialized in geopolitics, and were known for covering stories from around the world that other major media outlets were not making time for, including Somalia, the Bosnia-Serbian conflict, and the Middle East. After spending 10 years there, she shifted away from a career in journalism.
She went back to the University of Texas at Austin and completed graduate coursework in the field of Health Education, with a specialty in public health and chronic disease epidemiology. She started working for the Texas Department of Health as an epidemiologist. She studied the health effects of pesticide exposure, injury & chronic disease in the workplace, and other occupational hazards. During that time Brienne served as the President of the Council of State & Territorial Epidemiologists.
Family Life & Move to the Midwest
Brienne has been married to her husband, Karl Brown, for more than 20 years. They have a daughter (16) and a son (12). They met in Austin, and moved to Whitewater when Karl, a professor specializing in Cold War History, was offered a teaching position in the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. At the time, their daughter was 4 years old, and their son was 8 months old. Along with the primary role of raising their two children, Brienne started teaching community yoga and also became an adjunct professor at UW-Whitewater teaching Health Education.
Beyond her work as an instructor, Brienne is well known in Whitewater for her efforts to improve the community. She worked as Program Director for the Whitewater Community Foundation. She has served for 12 years on the Whitewater Library Board. While on the Library Board she co-chaired a fundraising campaign to raise $3 million for a library renovation and expansion. She started a local 501c3 maker space as well as a farmer’s market, called Whitewater City Market which is in its 9th year. Brienne is also on the board of directors for Whitewater Grocery Cooperative, an effort to build a grocery store in Whitewater (Whitewater has been without a grocery store since 2015.) When a position on city council opened up, she was convinced to run for the seat, and is currently serving her third term on Whitewater Common Council.
Political experience
Brienne was elected to Whitewater Common Council three times.
In 2022, Brienne ran for Assembly District 31 against Ellen Schutt, even though the district was heavily favored by Republicans due to gerrymandering. Her primary reason to run for state office was to restore women's reproductive freedoms after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.
When asked to run again in 2024, Brienne answered the call.
"I am running for Wisconsin Assembly to fight for freedom, community and opportunity.
I'll fight for the freedom to make reproductive choices without government interference and freedom from gun violence.
I'll fight to strengthen our communities. This includes, ending housing insecurity and creating affordable healthcare and child care as well as supporting family farms and protecting our environment.
I'll fight to increase state funding for our K-12 schools, universities and tech colleges, so that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their dreams without going into debt.
And I will work to build Wisconsin from the bottom up and the middle out, and bring back good union jobs."