Brenda Orellana

As Contracts and Grants Compliance Officer Brenda Orellana works closely with program directors to manage all aspects of government funding. She coordinates with program and finance staff to apply for funding; maintains existing contracts; responds to funder requests; ensures contract compliance; works with subcontractors, and completes narrative and data grant reporting in partnership with program staff, among other tasks.

Prior to Centro Legal, Brenda worked at Humanmade in San Francisco supporting participants of the advanced manufacturing workforce development program, and at Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) in Oakland as an administrative assistant, paralegal and operations director. For over four years Brenda worked directly with clients, and supported attorneys on affirmative and class action litigation, among other administrative and legal responsibilities. Brenda has previously volunteered as an interpreter for affirmative asylum cases, and as an election poll worker in Alameda County. Brenda received a Master’s in Public Administration from California State University, Easy Bay. She received a Bachelor’s degree in International Political Economy, and Hispanic International Studies from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.