Some people live loud lives. Others move with quiet strength, changing the world in steady, lasting ways. Brenda Cecelia Sanders belongs to the second group. Such a immaculate personality is Brenda. Born in the Bronx in 1955, she has lived a life deeply rooted in discipline, faith, and compassion. Her story is one of endurance, service, and creativity, a story narrated not just through decades of public work but also through the poetry she quietly wrote along the way.
She grew up in a nucleated household where hard work wasn’t a choice but a compulsion or for that matter, it was their normal way of living life. Her father was a proud member of both the United States Navy and the New York City Police Department. Her mother balanced roles as a beautician and later, a long-time employee for the State of New York.
“My father and mother both brought the discipline in me,” Brenda says. Her childhood unfolded across boroughs and suburbs. After starting school in the Bronx, her family moved to East Meadow, Long Island. Brenda eventually graduated from West Babylon High School in the year 1974. She later graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from SUNY Old Westbury in 1982.
But her professional journey began much earlier. Brenda joined the State of New York in 1975, starting as a mental hygiene therapy assistant. Over the next several decades, she moved up through the ranks: Habilitation Specialist, Program Manager, and finally, Program Coordinator. In that role today, she oversees a day treatment program for adults with disabilities. Her work includes supervising 18 staff members and supporting over 40 individuals who rely on the program daily. Her days are filled with incident reports, regulatory compliance, staff training, and family support. It’s demanding work that calls for heart and resilience. And Brenda has both. She’s also no stranger to juggling.
In the late 1980s, Brenda added a second job to her already expansive work experience. For two years, she worked as a part-time ticket agent for Piedmont Airlines and USAir at LaGuardia Airport. It wasn’t uncommon for her to work more than 50 hours a week, getting home well past midnight. “I’d be at the airport late, then up early for my state job,” she recalls. “It was tough, but I was young and determined.”
While many might burn out under that kind of pressure, Brenda found peace in an unexpected place to channel her exhaustion, and that was writing, which is, in fact, productive.
Her thoughts would come in waves. In the car, during quiet moments before sleep, in the shower. She wrote on napkins, tissues, scrap paper, or whatever was nearby when inspiration struck.
Those fragments of thought became “The Quiet Side of Me,” her debut poetry collection published in February. The book is divided into three sections: Nature, Life, and God.
Each theme holds deep meaning for Brenda. Nature reminds her to pause. Life has taught her to endure. And God, she says, is the source of her strength. “I never sat down with a plan or a structure,” she says. “I was inspired by God. I just wrote what came to me.”
When she was questioned about the boat, Brenda chose it deliberately for her book cover. She replied, “To me, that boat in the still water symbolizes peace. That’s the kind of space I wanted to create for readers.”
She never set out to target a specific audience. She simply hoped her words might speak to anyone going through something difficult, anyone searching for a bit of hope or stillness. “I believe there’s always something good in every hard moment,” she says. “You just have to look for it.”
Faith has always been central to Brenda’s life. For over 34 years, she’s been a member of Living Hope Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. She’s held the role of financial secretary, treasurer, and led the praise dance ministry. Her spirituality is deeply personal, but she hopes it shines through her poetry in a way that comforts rather than preaches. She does not want anyone to convert but be aware. “I just want people to know there’s always a path forward, even in the darkest times.”
Now, after nearly 50 years of service, Brenda is moving towards her next venture. She plans to retire soon. Her dream? To travel, write more, and spend time with her two daughters and six grandchildren.
At the top of her travel list is Tahiti, a destination she’s dreamed of ever since hearing it described in a jazz song. The island’s beauty and peace captured her imagination, and she hopes one day soon to experience it firsthand. “I love nature. I love the ocean, the sky, the stillness. That kind of place just opens your heart to reflection and creativity.”
Brenda isn’t done writing. Her second book, Awaken in the Morning, is already finished and awaiting publication. She’s also been working on a series of short stories she hopes to complete in the next few years. What’s holding her back? The same thing that holds back many independent authors: funding. “Publishing isn’t cheap,” she says. “But I’m hopeful. One way or another, the words will find their way.”
Before publishing her book, Brenda had already dabbled in writing during high school and college. She published poems in student newspapers and even wrote for a magazine, “innovision magazine,” where she conducted interviews with people from all walks of life. But her poetry collection is different from that. It’s hers, entirely. No deadlines. No rules. Just honesty and heart.
Ask those who know her, and they’ll describe Brenda as calm under pressure, steady, and deeply compassionate. Her ability to manage chaos with grace has been a defining feature of both her career and her personal life. “I think people would say I’m patient. That I listen. And that I care,” she says. “That’s what matters to me.”
When she reflects on her life and what she hopes to leave behind, it’s not awards or titles she talks about. It’s the quiet things, the handwritten notes, the conversations, the poems. “I believe we were put here to do good,” she says. “To treat people with kindness. To lift others up.” That’s what she tries to do with her work.
Brenda Cecelia Sanders may call her poetry The Quiet Side of Me, but her message speaks loudly: even in a noisy world, there is beauty to be found in stillness, peace to be found in purpose, and hope to be found in faith. You just have to be willing to listen.
About the Author
Brenda Cecelia Sanders is a dedicated public servant, poet, and lifelong New Yorker. With over four decades in disability services, her work reflects deep compassion, resilience, and faith she is notary Public for the State Of New York. Her first book is a poetry collection with the title, The Quiet Side of Me, explores themes of nature, life, and spirituality. Brenda a living example of resilience and discipline, writes to uplift and inspire, drawing from her own journey to remind readers that beauty and strength can be found in every season of life.