LT in Action – Cindy Brenneman

Leadership Tomorrow selected Class of 2002 alumna Cindy Brenneman as the 2020 Outstanding LT Alumni Leadership Award. She credits her LT experience as a key inspiration behind her service as a volunteer and nonprofit board member. She also says that LT taught her to never stop learning and always ask questions.

Cindy recounts many learnings from various LT workshops. During Government Day, she valued the speakers’ insights into so many complex issues from the inside out. She considers Water Day a game-changer in her understanding of what it takes to bring water through her faucet, and now she thinks about that day every time she turns on the sink! The most impactful experiences for Cindy included visits to organizations like S.O.S., Someone Cares Soup Kitchen and THINK Together, where she learned about the community’s immense need for help in the local communities and how volunteerism make all the difference for small-staffed nonprofits.

After retiring from her full-time career, she transitioned into part-time roles and now dedicates a significant amount of her time to volunteering with numerous Orange County organizations, while also running a lifestyle coaching consultancy, based in Costa Mesa. In addition to her Outstanding LT Alumni honor, Cindy has earned the President’s Award for Volunteerism from President Bush and was named the 2019 Civilian Volunteer of the Year by Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue.