Margaret "Margie" Brown

Margaret "Margie" Brown was born in 1949 to Berntina and Ben Twitchell in Anchorage, Alaska. She grew up in Takotna, Alaska until she was seven years old when the family moved to Oregon. After earning a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology from the University of Oregon, Margie returned to Alaska in 1974 looking for work. Unable to find employment in her chosen field, she ended up working in the lands department of the newly formed Calista Native Corporation. In 1976, she got a job with Cook Inlet Regional Corporation (CIRI) in Anchorage as a land planner where her work focused on the implementation of the Cook Inlet Land Exchange (T&C). After becoming land manager and then vice president of land and resources at CIRI, Margie played a key role in the corporation's selection and acquisition of profitable lands. The T&C was a landmark three-way land exchange between the State of Alaska, the federal government (mostly the Bureau of Land Management - BLM), and an Alaska Native Regional Corporation. Margie continued a successful career at CIRI, becoming a senior vice president in 1993. She held this position until 1995, when she retired for ten years. Margie returned to CIRI in 2005 as president and chief executive officer, a position she held until her retirement in 2013. Margie also served on the CIRI Board from 1984-1987, 2002-2005, and starting in 2016 is currently serving a third term. She has also been actively involved with preserving her Yup'ik heritage and is a big supporter of Alaska cultural and heritage organizations, including the Anchorage Museum. She has also served on the board of trustees of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C, and the Alaska Airlines Advisory Board.

For more about Margie Brown, see "Diligence and Determination" by Shehla Anjum in the December 2012/January 2013 edition of First Alaskans Magazine.