Edward Brigham is a native of Texas. After finishing high school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, he attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, from which he received a BA degree magna cum laude in 1971 with majors in political science and economics. He then completed a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs of Princeton University in 1974.

Mr. Brigham was selected as the Associate Administrator for Management and Administration for the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) in August, 1999. In this position, he has executive responsibility for budget and financial management, administrative services, information technology, contracts and procurement, and human resources for RSPA. Effective February 2005, RSPA was reorganized into the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

From January to September, 2001, Mr. Brigham served as Acting Deputy Administrator for RSPA with responsibility for the entire agency pending confirmation by the Senate of a new Administrator. He filled this role as the senior career executive in RSPA's order of succession at that time.

Mr. Brigham has completed 30 years of Federal Government service. His first Federal position was as a budget examiner in the Housing Branch of the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, from 1974 to 1980. He then joined the professional staff of the Committee on the Budget of the U.S. House of Representatives where he served until 1995. In 1995, he was selected to serve in the Senior Executive Service of the Federal Government. From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Brigham was Chief of the Financial Institutions Branch of the Office of Management and Budget.

Among his honors, Mr. Brigham has received the RSPA Administrator's Individual Exemplary Achievement ("Eagle") Award, the agency's highest individual award; the Secretary of Transportation's Gold Medal award; and an Outstanding Service Award from the Office of Management and Budget.

Mr. Brigham is a member of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis (AABPA), for which he served as President in 2001-2002. He resides in Potomac, Maryland, with his wife Marie and daughter Elizabeth.