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Bio

Brenda’s projects as an independent producer include Academy Award nominee Dirty Wars (2013); Laura Poitras’ Academy Award-winning CITIZENFOUR (2014) and Cannes premiere Risk (2016), as well as Poitras’ exhibition Astro Noise (2016) at the Whitney Museum of American Art; and, consulting on Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson (2016); Nancy Schwartzman’s Roll Red Roll (2018); and Steve Maing’s Crime + Punishment (2018). She is currently working on two unannounced features, with Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya (2023 inaugural Diane Weyermann fellows at Point North Institute), and with Joanna Natasegara and Violet Films. With historian Howard Zinn, she co-founded Voices of a People’s History and produced the affiliated The People Speak broadcast live event specials. She is a member of the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Brenda spent quite a few long years in academia and has worked in independent media, political organizing, and cultural organizations, including with Bertha Foundation, Compton Foundation, Doc Society, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Haymarket Books, Wallace Global Fund, Sundance Institute, and Perspective Fund. She served on the board of Lannan Foundation and is the Executive Director, overseeing granting strategy during a 10-year spend out through 2030. During 3.5 years at the Sundance Institute, Brenda established and led the Institute’s first engagement and advocacy programs, including the celebrated Satellite Screens program at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. She continues supporting Restoring the Future, a member of Color Congress, focused on just and liberatory praxis in media curation and community programming.