Remembering David P. Brown

David P. Brown served as chief executive officer of Sawchuk Brown Associates from 1981 to 2007, joining the agency two years after his wife, Pamela Sawchuk Brown, founded it. Over the past 25 years, he continually took the firm in new directions to keep it at the forefront of the communications field and to expand its capabilities. He loved exploring and discovery and was never afraid to take risks. While managing Sawchuk Brown, David began and grew the firm's public affairs and technology practices, added a new media component, led its crisis communications team and was speechwriter and counselor to a wide range of business leaders as well as political figures from senators to sheriffs, from congressmen to city councilors.

David was one of the nation's premier public relations executives, and his opinions and expertise were routinely sought by industry trade press, fellow practitioners and academics. His newspaper experience included the Times Union in Albany, N.Y., where he began as a copy editor and quickly rose to executive Sunday editor and executive news editor; the Record, in Troy, N.Y.; the Daily Press in Newport News, Va.; an Air Force base newspaper in Virginia; and Yachting Magazine.

David was deeply involved in Tech Valley communities. He was past president of the Rensselaer County Historical Society, a charter member of Troy 2020 and vice president of the board of the Albany Public Library. He also served on the boards of the American Heart Association Northeast Affiliate and the Howard and Bush Foundation, was a past director of the Center for Economic Growth and was involved with countless other community organizations.