Brenda L. Henry

Brenda L. Henry, PhD, MPH (she, her, ella) has an unwavering conviction in humanity’s ability to heal, nurture, and love. She established BLH Consulting and Briyamos to help cultivate a more loving world for current and future generations and is currently serving as Interim Chief Operating Officer for the Environmental Grantmakers Association. Brenda’s background and training is in public health, with an explicit focus on how structural racism and other social injustices sustain and perpetuate inequities across all facets of society. She has extensive experience across different types of programs, organizations, and systems, and has served in senior and executive leadership roles in government and philanthropy, spanning operations, programs, and strategy.

With almost three decades of professional experience, Brenda’s journey includes stops at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, University of Michigan, HighScope Educational Research Foundation, Center for Applied Research and Technical Assistance, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Candid., NYC Administration for Children's Services, Bainum Family Foundation, and Social Impact Exchange. She is also an alumna of the Council on Foundations’ Career Pathways leadership development program. A supporter of people and builder of systems, Brenda is most proud of the ways she has helped support team members to show up as their most authentic selves, as well as built strong programs and systems in her prior roles that have withstood the test of time. 

Born in Puerto Rico and bred in the Bronx, NYC, Brenda applies the entirety of her lived and professional wisdom to her engagements. As a Black Puerto Rican woman with ability, cisgender, educational, skin color, and heterosexual privilege, she strives to be mindful and intentional in how her intersectional conditioning shows up in her work.

Brenda received her Bachelor of Science in health science from SUNY College at Cortland and her Master of Public Health and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).

She lives in the Bronx, NY with her husband Safiy and to recharge, she reads, listens to music, binge-watches movies/TV shows, attends live concerts/theater, and breaks bread with members of her beloved community.