Episode 8 | Elsa Brown, President & CEO of Copland Contracting

The Sky’s the Limit

In this episode of The Sky’s The Limit: Beyond The Deal Dee Brown interviews Elsa Brown, President & CEO of Copland Contracting headquarter in DeSoto, TX. Copland Contracting is a 100% woman owned and minority owned construction company. Dee and Elsa discuss her journey to becoming an executive in the construction industry. They also dive into pay equality, diversity, and inclusion specifically among women in construction.

About Dee Brown:

Dee Brown has a 28 year record of real estate sales, development, management, and success overseeing all phases of multi-million dollar construction, infrastructure, water/sewer, and environmental projects for government and private-sector clients. His experience includes managing personnel of up to 200 people in highway/bridge improvements, asbestos abatement, real estate sales and development, solar installations, and a variety of other projects. Dee is backed by strong credentials and a proven history of on-time, on-budget, and high-quality project completions. Dee Brown holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Memphis; an MBA from Bethel University; an affiliate broker; a LEED Green Associate; a Graduate Realtor Institute; PACP, MACP, and LACP certified; and member of Memphis Area Association of Realtors Multi Million Dollar Sales Club. Dee is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and the Founder and CEO of the Brown Foundation Community Development Corporation.

Dee has been the recipient of many local, state and national honors. In 1999, Mr. Brown was named the Entrepreneur of the year for the state of Tennessee by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 2015, his construction firm, Concrete Constructors, Inc., was named the 7th fastest growing inner city company in the country by ICIC and Fortune Magazine. In 2019, The P3 Group Inc. was named as a Mississippi business success story by the Mississippi Development Authority, and Mr. Brown was selected as a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council (2020); and was selected as a member of Forbes Business Council (2020). Dee Brown was awarded the Congressional Black Caucus Presidential Corporate Philanthropy Award by the National Bar Association (2021), and was appointed the National Advisor on Public-Private Partnerships and Urban Redevelopment for the President of the National Bar Association (2021-2022).

He was a featured guest on numerous international podcasts including Real Estate for Breakfast (2019); ForbesBooks Radio podcast the Joe Pardavila show (2021); and The Real Estate Syndication Show with Whitney Sewell (2021). He has also been an expert speaker on the subject of P3's for a variety of organizations including Prairie View A&M University’s Business of the University Conference (2018); the Delta Grassroots Caucus (2019); Clark Hill Law Firm‘s Real Estate Division (2019); and Arkansas Black Mayors Association (2020); to name a few.

Mr. Brown holds the honor of being the first minority Department of Defense contractor to hold a federal contract with the US Navy Nuclear Power Command at Goose Creek, SC (2013). On this project, he trained his crane operators and riggers to operate a 500,000 pound Manitowoc crane on a floating derrick (a barge). Upon successfully training employees at a shipyard in Goose Creek, tugboats were used to transport the barge and crane into the nuclear facility where they assisted US Navy riggers in changing 60,000 pound sea anchors on nuclear submarines. Upon the completion of this project, the US Navy gave a performance rating of 'very good'. He has completed hundreds of projects just as complicated and rewarding for more than 2 dozen federal, state, and municipal agencies in 8 states over the past decade. Mr. Brown is also the first developer to deliver a capital project under a public private partnership in the state of Arkansas. Under Mr. Brown's leadership The P3 Group has grown into the largest minority real estate development company that focuses exclusively on public-private partnerships.

Dee Brown is also the CEO of P3 Group Charters, Inc. which is a yacht charter company located in Fort Lauderdale, FL that own and operate a 100 ft. luxury yacht. Dee is also the Founder, President & CEO of Self Made Dee Brown CEO custom men’s wear clothing line which is sold exclusively onboard SELF MADE.

Dee is also the host of his own international podcast The Sky's the Limit: Beyond the Deal which is produced by ForbesBooksRadio.