By Kathy Gaillard
Brenda Brown is a CRA Loan Officer and Assistant Branch Manager at Great Midwest Bank. She is quick to tell you that the ‘CRA’ distinction is significant to her job and our community.
“CRA stands for Community Reinvestment Act, which was passed in the 60s because of discrimination in housing—from redlining to discriminating against African Americans in terms of lending and where they live. I was hired specifically to ensure that does not happen. This bank allows me to go back into my community to serve low to moderate income families, so I take that CRA distinction to heart,” she said.
She certainly does. Throughout her conversation, Brenda’s passion for her job and her commitment to serving others is apparent. Even more fascinating, though, is her interesting career journey.
During the 60s, Brenda was admitted as a patient at the old St. Anthony’s Hospital for what was supposed to be a simple tonsillectomy. On the operating table, she almost bled to death because of her doctor’s mistake. Her mother sued the doctor and the cash settlement was put into a trust for Brenda until she turned 18 years old.
When she attended the court hearing with her mother, Brenda was mesmerized by the court stenographer and, from that court visit, her goal in life was to become a stenographer—or so she thought!
Focused on achieving her goal, upon graduating from Riverside High School Brenda enrolled in Spencerian College to become a court stenographer. Her first case as a stenographer was a murder trial. Raised on Palmer and Center Street, by a mother who sheltered her and her five sisters, Brenda had never been exposed to crime or anything horrendous.
“After that first case, I went home crying to my mother and told her I had picked the wrong profession. Nobody told me about the emotional and psychological impact that came with being a court stenographer,” said Brenda.
Disillusioned and disappointed, Brenda didn’t have a Plan B, so with an uncertain future looming before her, she went to work for a company earning $25 a day cleaning large, upscale homes. Eventually, the company sold the business (without telling Brenda). Once again, facing an uncertain future, in 1979 Brenda kept her established clients and soon started her own business—Brenda’s Cleaning Services. She and her employees—at times as many as 15-20—specialized in cleaning homes, offices and new construction for more than 16 years.
“I didn’t have a plan but the Lord ordered my steps and I became an entrepreneur. I had a board of directors with the cleaning business and when I decided to do something different, one of my board members, who was a banker, invited me to work at her bank,” she said.
Brenda worked part-time for the bank while running her own business to supplement her income. She later worked in the in-store bank branches helping customers with home equity loans. One of her customers, impressed with her customer service, invited her to join his mortgage loan company so she did for seven years. In 2008 when the foreclosure market hit, Select Milwaukee was searching for foreclosure specialists. Again, Brenda was recommended, and she ended up working there as a foreclosure specialist for three years.
Along her journey, Brenda credits her late sister, Esther Davis, and her husband, Henry Lee Brown, for being with her from the beginning.
“When I look back over my career, I’ve spent most of it doing something with houses—from cleaning houses, helping people that built houses, to helping with home mortgages. I am grateful to my husband of 37 years and my late sister for always being there for me. I really believe this is my passion and I now know my purpose,” said Brenda.
“I love making a positive difference in the lives of people through home ownership. It’s a powerful thing. Throughout my culture, throughout our history, even back to the time of slavery, Black people knew that if they could just own a piece of land, it would be theirs. They could take care of it and pass it on to their children. There is so much power in purchasing your first starter home, but you have to take steps to home ownership. If you can take the first step, you can accumulate wealth. Look at billionaire Warren Buffett, who still lives in the same, five-bedroom house that he has lived in for 65 years. He lives there because that’s where he wants to be.
“As for me, I’m on assignment for the Lord, so I have no intention of retiring anytime soon; until HE tells me to,” said Brenda.