A native Texan, Brenda graduated from Texas A & M at Galveston with a degree in chemical oceanography. Before retiring, she enjoyed encouraging and assisting students as a math and chemistry tutor at Lone Star College. Brenda is a certified Texas Master Naturalist, who is interested in birding, environmental education, and citizen science. Her volunteer activities have included monitoring monarchs, water quality testing and bird observations at Sylvan Beach Park to see if there is a correlation between the two, sea turtle patrol, being a science judge and moderator at National Ocean Sciences Bowl, educational outreach with Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, and volunteering with FeatherFest.

Brenda became an avid contributor to iNaturalist after participating in her first City Nature Challenge in 2017. She has submitted 9129 observations with photographic documentation of 2200 species. She has also enjoyed gathering avian data for the Audubon Texas’ TERN program for the 9 years since its inception. Brenda participates in several monthly bird surveys on Galveston Island and has submitted 2600+ eBird checklists for Galveston county.