Business Directory

Insurance Agent  - Retired

Insurance Agent Chris Browne loves meeting people and helping the community. “In fact,” she says, “the best part of her job is helping people through the crazy world of health and life insurance.” She also enjoys the flexibility afforded by her work. It gives her a chance to be involved in and give back to many community activities and nonprofits — something she has noticed many professional women do. “That’s the greatest thing about living in the Yamhill Valley,” she said.
Chris came here from her home state of Montana after earning a degree in Social Work from Carroll College. She was director of the McMinnville Chamber of Commerce before joining the insurance industry more than 30 years ago. Over the years, she has been involved with Partners in Progress, MV Advancements and Sip!, the McMinnville Wine and Food Classic, and has served on boards of multiple nonprofits. Chris has also held various positions at St James Church and School over the past 40 years. She was named both Junior Citizen and Woman of the Year in the McMinnville Distinguished Service Awards program. Chris and her husband, Tony, have two grown daughters. Erin and her husband, Adam, also live in McMinnville. Katie and her husband live in Alaska with their two boys, Frank, 2, and Noah, 3 months.

Like Chris, Jim is also a native of Montana.  He began his career in insurance and employee benefits with BlueCross BlueShield of Montana where he worked for more than 17 years. Over that time Jim was their Director of Sales and Account Management, Manager of Managed Care Operations, Medicare Auditor, and Manager of HMO Montana, the state’s first statewide capitated HMO he helped to build from the ground up. He and his wife Gina (a Carroll College alum), and their son Logan (now an UO graduate), moved to Oregon in 1999 when Jim joined Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon to manage sales in the Portland, Salem and Vancouver regions. Jim went on to preside over Regence’s third-party administrator subsidiary in Portland and later joined Kaiser Permanente NW to provide direction over sales and account management. In 2009 Jim left the industry to start his own senior in-home care business serving the metropolitan region. After hiring a team to run his company in 2012, Jim joined ATRIO Health Plans, an Oregon-based Medicare Advantage plan located in Salem, and was their Chief Sales & Marketing Officer.

It only took one vacation from Montana to the Oregon coast for Jim and Gina to fall in love with the area and the Willamette Valley, where they’ve made their home for 24 years. Jim joined Chris Browne Insurance in July of 2021 as the Principal owner.  “And now I get to focus on the aspect of my career that has always given me the most joy. That is, working directly with people to make the complex more simple to understand, help them find the affordable and comprehensive coverage they need, and with the security and peace of mind knowing I’m there for them when they need me.”