A Putnam County native, Brown was a trailblazer for women in law and politics. Appointed to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) by President Johnson in 1964, she became its first female chair in 1969, making history as the first woman to lead an independent federal agency.

Earlier, she had broken barriers in West Virginia as the first female assistant attorney general, insurance commissioner, and member of the Public Service Commission. After her time at the ICC, she led Buffalo Bank and served as the chief administrative law judge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.