February 28, 2025
Brenda Midkiff retired at the end of 2024 after an incredible 27 years at the Public Justice Center. Brenda started at the PJC in 1998 as the Office Manager and rose to the position of Director of Finance and Administration. In these roles, Brenda made a meaningful and far-reaching impact on every aspect of the PJC’s operations.
She helped us grow financially. The PJC had about 10 staff and a budget of around $500,000 back in 1998. Brenda kept our books and managed our finances over the years as we grew to 34 staff and a budget of over $4.5 million at the end of 2024. She worked with our executive director and board of directors in establishing an investment committee, setting up our investment account, and creating policies and procedures for financial management overall. And she provided the back-office support for the PJC’s fiscal sponsorship of three Black-led organizations, all of which are now standalone nonprofit organizations.
Brenda helped us modernize our systems. When she started at the PJC, there was one email address and an answering machine for the entire organization, and staff saved files on 5” floppy disks. The bookkeeping system was running on an old MS-DOS platform, and we shared a case management database with Maryland Legal Aid. Now, our computer and phone systems operate on a cloud-based infrastructure; we use QuickBooks for accounting and financial management; and we have our own secure case management database.
She guided us through important transitions. During her tenure, Brenda worked with four executive directors and the people who stepped in as interim executive directors and was a steady and reliable source of support for staff through these changes. She also coordinated three major moves, from the second floor of the Maryland Legal Aid building to the first floor of the same building, from that building to 1 North Charles Street, and finally to our current offices at 201 North Charles Street (during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic!).
We would not be the leader in public interest law reform that we are today without Brenda’s hard work over her many years at the PJC!
