Washington State Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown to step down in March
Washington State Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown will step down from her position on March 3 after four years of service.
Brown was appointed to the post in February 2019 by Gov. Jay Inslee, according to a press release sent out Monday announcing Brown’s departure.
“I want to thank the dedicated Commerce employees partnering with local governments, businesses, and nonprofits to foster good jobs, infrastructure and access to broadband, sustainability and resiliency, housing and community capital facilities, and support for families and businesses in every region of the state,” Brown said in the news release. “I am proud of our work over the last four years and confident that this team will continue to excel in equitable community and economic development.”
During her time with the Department of Commerce, Brown expanded the Commerce’s Community Engagement and Outreach team and started the Small Business Resiliency Network, which now includes 30 partnered messenger organizations.
“Commerce has undergone enormous change in the last few years, and Lisa has been an exceptional leader throughout it all,” Inslee said in the news release. “During COVID-19, Lisa deftly guided the agency to pivot quickly to administering unprecedented levels of relief and assistance funding for local governments, Tribes, small businesses and nonprofits, youth development programs, people needing housing and rent assistance, and more.
“Lisa is a trailblazer in her own right who has shattered glass ceilings and looks for ways to clear the path for others to succeed, within the agency and among the communities that Commerce serves. Our state is better for her leadership and I wish her all the best in her next endeavors.”
When asked by McClatchy what the next move for Brown will be, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce said that Brown is not retiring, but there will be no word “until after she leaves agency service in March.”
Before her time at Commerce, Brown served as a Democratic lawmaker representing the 3rd legislative district in Spokane for 20 years, first as a member of the House of Representatives and later as Senate Majority Leader. She also served as Chancellor of Washington State University’s Spokane campus and taught at Gonzaga University and Eastern Washington University.
