KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Chad Brown
Creative Visionary, Photographer, Filmmaker, Conservationist, Founder of Love is King & Soul River Inc
An award‑winning photographer, filmmaker, Navy veteran, and conservationist, Chad fuses visual storytelling with bold advocacy for wild places and underrepresented communities.
He holds a Master of Science in Visual Communication Design from Pratt Institute in New York City and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Dallas, where he focused on photography, design, and filmmaking.
These foundations shaped his ability to merge creative excellence with mission‑driven impact. As the founder of Soul River Inc. and Love is King, Chad champions BIPOC and Indigenous voices while protecting threatened ecosystems.
He has led more than 30 expeditions into the Arctic Circle and became the first African American to hold a backcountry guide permit for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. His advocacy has taken him to Capitol Hill to testify before Congress alongside the Alaska Wilderness League and the Gwich’in Nation to defend the Arctic from oil drilling.
Chad’s career spans global documentary work; creative collaborations in hip‑hop and fashion; and contributions to The New York Times Magazine. Whether in remote tundra or urban culture hubs, his mission remains constant: to inspire action, elevate unheard voices, and protect the wild spaces that shape our collective future.
Find out more about Chad Brown at chadocreative.com.
Chief Doug Barrett
Tribal Chief of The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians
Nish-a-nah (hello in Siuslaw); Doug Barrett is Siuslaw from the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. Doug has worked for the Tribe for 24 years, holding various positions ranging from Tsalila Coordinator to Prevention Activities Coordinator.
He is a Certified Prevention Specialist, Certified Recovery Mentor, and Certified Drug & Alcohol Counselor. Doug teaches culture to Tribal youth and families, as well as ways to abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. He serves as a Peace Giver for the Tribal Courts, conducting Healing and Talking Circles.
He has participated in many Canoe Journeys and has served as the main skipper for canoes, teaching many others to become skilled skippers as well. Doug has utilized the Healing of the Canoe (HOC) curriculum for many years. Through this work, songs, dances, and language continue to be learned and shared. Doug is now retired from his previous roles and serves full-time on Tribal Council. He has worked with many people from all nine Tribes and across the state.
Doug is passionate about Tribal history, culture, and traditions. It is vitally important to him that culture and traditions are passed on to youth so they may feel pride as Native people. His hope is that elders will continue to share their knowledge, stories, traditions, expertise, and many talents with the entire Tribe, continuing to teach traditional crafts and lifeways.
By keeping culture and traditions alive and passing them on to children, future generations are given many gifts: a way of life, an understanding of where they come from, knowledge of who they are, strong family values, and much more.
Doug believes that people should walk graciously on this earth with gratitude for the ancestors and elders who came before, as well as for future generations. He remains deeply committed to culture and to the future of the Tribe for the sake of the children yet to come.
Header Image: Agate Passage Preserve © Shaun Swalley/Bainbridge Island Land Trust
Speaker Photos: Chad Brown and Winchester Dam