Brenda is the Director of HR and Operations at Smith Freed Eberhard. Her expertise is in accounting, administration, credit management, event planning, fundraising, HR, management and operations. Before joining SFE, Brenda began her career in the lumber industry, expanded to transportation, then to a public accounting firm. Brenda says that her mentors were leaders who believed in her abilities and provided opportunities for her to learn, make mistakes and unapologetically succeed.

She says, “There were times in my career that it took nothing but sheer will-power to succeed, mainly due to my lack of a college degree. But I was raised by parents who instilled in me a solid work ethic and stubborn persistence to not settle for anything less than excellence and to believe that I could succeed. My path led me to SFE when I was searching for a place that would fully utilize my skills and allow me to give back.”

Personal Life
Originally from California, Brenda and her husband have lived in the Portland area for over 30 years, so she considers herself an Oregonian. In downtime, she enjoys social time with family and friends, hosting parties, and also meeting new friends. Brenda has three grandchildren whom she adores and three cats who run her household.