"Brenda Brown is a mother of three and grandmother of five. She is a twin and one of 11 living siblings. Her willingness to serve and to help people is captured even in her career goal to ""help students to succeed and be prepared for the economic and social opportunities that will empower them as individuals."" She practices what she preaches. Her parents instilled in Brenda and her siblings the importance of education. Though she encountered many hurdles - including racial, social, and economic - she persevered, earning an associate, bachelor's, master's, and then doctoral degree. She held the same high expectations for her children, whom she inspired to achieve higher education degrees. Brenda carries that same can-do spirit into the workplace. As coordinator of Academic Resource Center, daily she guides and encourages students, regardless of their circumstances, to grow and learn. Her mantra is a Nelson Mandela quote: ""An education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."" Beyond home and work, she believes that giving back is vital to promoting community - and she does! Her past volunteer efforts include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Flint (BB/BS), the Beecher Scholarship Incentive Program, the Genesee County Reaching Across the Nation Consortium, Department of Human Services Michigan Youth Opportunity Initiatives, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Dinner Planning Committee, the Gateway Cultivating Our Community garden project, and the United Way. Perhaps most notable, for over 30 years, Brenda has served as a mentor for BB/BS. She also mentored for Living Independently Networking Knowledge (L.I.N.K.), volunteered as the coordinator for her church's weekly A Taste of Tutoring program, and served as the Amachi liaison between BB/BS and her church. She has been a past mentor for West Bendle and Garfield Elementary Schools' Help One Student To Succeed (HOSTS) programs (6 years), an advisor to the Baker College Tutoring Association's tutoring programs for Flint Community Schools and Bendle Public Schools (15 years), and a former cochair of Flint Area Citizens to End Racism Youth Action Team and Steering Committee (5 years). She has served as facilitator of the Great Lakes District Youth Leadership (1 year) and board member of Flint Leadership Development in Interethnic Relations (2 years). She also served as a member of the Flint Area Public Affairs Forum. In all her community service Brenda brings courage, commitment, compassion, and understanding that have continued to grow from her early childhood experiences as being part of the only minority family in a small, rural community. Befriended by one White, female classmate, following high school graduation, Brenda was determined to similarly become a champion for social justice. Her faith serves as a strong foundation. She is an active member of Prince of Peace Missionary Baptist Church, where she is a Sunday school teacher and serves in multiple ministries. Brenda lives, works, and volunteers - demonstrating the essence of Luke 12:48 (KJV), ""For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."""
Dr. Brenda Brown's, The Day I Forgot-But Will Always Remember..., Is a must read! This book provides awareness and critical information in such an intriguing manner. It is hard to put the book down once you begin reading. This book takes you on an incredible journey, as Dr. Brown very candidly shares her incredible challenges & triumphs with great transparency. We can all learn from her journey. Thank you, Dr. Brown for so generously sharing your story and the stories of others...This book has transformed how I view my own health and life. Morris Thomas, Ph.D., PMP(R), The University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC Well articulated and heart felt acknowledgement of challenges and adversities we face in life. Dr. Brown is a strong, determined, caring young lady who has overcome many challenges in life relationship to her personal life, family situation, career aspirations and health as proclaimed in her book. This written testimony serves as motivation to others who are faced with similar challenges in their lives. Her desire to share her journey with US to enable others to achieve their goals and aspirations in life are of monumental importance to her and is articulated throughout the book. Her continued journey through FAITH and internal drive will serve as motivation to others. This is only the beginning, stay tuned for the next phase. Thanks for sharing your journey! Dr. LB McCune, Kettering University, Flint, MI Dr. Brown's account is incredibly moving and heartening, to say the least, to review one's own lifestyle and make changes and to have trust in a higher power. In reading her book, I found myself nodding my head at her story and the survivor stories truly realizing how lives can be changed instantly. She gives a wonderful opportunity to be a close-up witness on her journey from pain to restoration. Readers will be motivated and encourage to face life's challenge knowing someone like them made it through. A must read. Mr. Twannie Gray, LMSW, CAADC, Solutions Behavioral Health (SBH), Saginaw, MI