Brougham is a former member of the the Gay Liberation Front. He helped found the Gay Men's Health Collective of the Berkeley Free Clinic. Brougham and his partner Barry Warren became the first couple to register for employee domestic partner benefits in Berkeley after it adopted the policy in December 1984. Berkeley's policy, however, did not include a registry for residents of the city; it only granted live-in partner health benefits regardless of whether they were straight or gay. Brougham is a former president of the East Bay Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club.