Christopher Browne is Deputy Director of the National Air and Space Museum. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Browne received his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College, graduating with a B.A. in History in 1980. Shortly thereafter, he joined the U.S. Navy and served as a naval flight officer, flying F-14 Tomcats off of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, making numerous deployments to the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, and Caribbean during seven years of active service. Browne amassed over 1,400 flight hours and more than 300 carrier landings, and is a graduate of the U.S. Navy's "Top Gun" Fighter Weapon School. In 1988 Browne joined the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) where he served in Operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) until being selected as the airport manager in 1998. He managed DCA for seven years; a period that included significant construction and the events of Y2K and 9-11. In 2005 Browne accepted his most recent assignment as the airport manager at Washington Dulles International Airport (lAD), where he led the airport through a pronounced phase of significant growth and development. In addition to managing a staff of over 500 employees, Browne was responsible for an aviation revenue stream exceeding $400 million, as well as the revenues generated on the Dulles Toll Road used to construct the WMATA metrorail line to lAD. Browne was awarded the Virginia "Airport Manager of the Year" in 2002 and served as the president of the Southeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives. Browne serves on the Board of the Special Olympics of Virginia, as well as on the Boards of several area Chambers of Commerce.
