Prior to working at SFF, Brenda completed a Master of Human Rights degree and served as a Teaching Assistant and a Research Assistant for a team studying strategy and leadership for an initiative supporting minority owned businesses in the Twin Cities, MN. Before that, she has served in a variety of roles both administrative and programmatic in nature at the Humboldt Area Foundation in northern California. Brenda completed a Master of Human Rights degree program at Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs & College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota, and a B.A. in Spanish and Latin American Studies at Cal Poly Humboldt (Humboldt State University).
Her small immediate family includes an amazingly supportive husband and an adorable cat, Mokka. In her spare time, she enjoys creating art, whether it be pottery or knitting, crocheting, or sewing. She also loves the outdoors and appreciates hiking and backpacking in remote forests and mountains with her husband. She finds learning new languages or words in other languages fun! She is a fluent Spanish speaker.