Brenda Santiago

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Brenda Santiago explores how individuals and organisations can expand their powers of connection and transformation. Fascinated by the challenges of bridging and translation in our increasingly globalised world, she creates value for organisations and communities by engaging with stakeholders across private, public, academic and non-profit sectors. 

She works alongside leaders of organisations with concerns ranging from education and training, integrative medicine, fighting childhood cancer, and sustainable packaging to building a circular economy. She has developed and led numerous multi-million dollar initiatives in Australia, Europe, the US and Puerto Rico, ranging from regional economic and community development to medical philanthropy globally. 

Brenda drew on and extended her experiences and insights in co-developing the new Coursera online Leading Transformation: Manage Change program with Professor Richard Badham of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. (MGSM). 

Brenda is passionate about enabling others to perform through dialogue, communication and action. She brings this passion to her current work as a consultant and advisor to a range of organisations.

A biologist by training, Brenda is one of a few women who has attained the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) board certification (CEcD) and is qualified as an MBA in strategic management. Brenda is an adjunct lecturer on the MGSM Global MBA program.

Brenda is passionate about yoga, Pilates, world travel and Puerto Rico.

Partner

Inspiring Change Pty Ltd

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Strategy & Transformation Consultant

Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation

Sydney, Australia

• Research-based consultancy for a co-regulatory membership organization in sustainable packaging. Provide CEO with an overview of the strategic challenges, change requirements, and initial recommendations; re-alignment of strategic purpose and strategic vehicle (operating model and operational structure); customer segmentation and stakeholder analysis; re-design of value proposition and engagement strategies for government, industry and partner stakeholders; strategic communications for change process; workshops and presentations with staff and APCO Board
• Co-developed the ANZPAC Plastics Pact Roadmap on behalf of the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands Plastics Pact (ANZPAC) as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact Network. 

Adjunct Faculty

Macquarie Graduate School of Management

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

• GMBA Faculty, Course Developer & Moderator

Strategy Consultant & Director

St Luke's Care

Sydney, Australia

• Research-based consultancy for a not-for-profit private hospital, clinic and aged care portfolio. Provide CEO and executives with an overview of the strategic challenges and change requirements, as well as an outline of recommendations (strategic direction) to guide planning and program implementation in line with the vision of Towards 2025 for the future of St Luke’s and the community it serves.

Executive Committee Member - Treasurer

Women for Election Australia

Sydney, Australia

• Women for Election Australia is a non-partisan organisation aiming to enrich the diversity in Australian politics by engaging more women in the political process. Our programs are designed to engage, inspire and inform women seeking to help create a fairer, more inclusive and dynamic Australia. 

Genome Power: Global Launch Campaign Lead

Garvan Institute of Medical Research & Lions Clubs International

Sydney, Australia & Chicago, Illinois

• Design, development, and global launch of a ‘philanthropic and medical research’ initiative in childhood cancer research. The “Pride of Ava” campaign was unveiled at the Lions International Centenary Convention in Chicago to a crowd of 28,000 Lions from across 200 countries. The pilot project underpins Lions International’s strategic framework for pediatric cancers and rollout across the globe.

Leadership & Strategy Online Course Designer

Confidential

Sydney, Australia

• Design, development and market positioning of a four-module leadership development program for online and blended learning environments (ghostwriting for confidential client).

Director

Mindd Foundation

Sydney, Australia

• Charged with designing and implementing strategies for sustainability and growth through fundraising and strategic alliances for Mindd, a health promotion trust committed to improving lives by promoting an integrative and preventative approach to healthcare and lifestyle.

Strategy & Fundraising Consultant

Western Sydney University

Sydney, Australia

• Strategy, communications and advancement consultancy services to Director of National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) and Executive Director Office of Advancement & Alumni. Activities included but were not limited to review and recommendations: for strategy documents, governance, stakeholder engagement, marketing and fundraising strategies.

Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM)

Sydney, Australia

• Director, External Relations & Special Projects - Office of the Dean
• Support the Dean in establishing and building high levels of engagement and interaction of MGSM’s teaching, service and research programs within the communities in which it operates.
• Engage with MGSM alumni, business and industry, government, local, national and international academic and other relevant economic development community partners in building a strong future for MGSM.
• Facilitate relationship building and implement initiatives across the School to create significant new revenue streams to advance the School’s vision and mission.
• Support the Dean in establishing and building high levels of engagement and interaction of MGSM’s teaching, service and research programs within the communities in which it operates. 
• Engage with MGSM alumni, business and industry, government, local, national and international academic and other relevant economic development community partners in building a strong future for MGSM. 
• Facilitate relationship building and implement initiatives across the School to create significant new revenue streams to advance the School’s vision and mission.
• Donors without Borders: Rethinking how Australians fund childhood cancer research  Co-wrote and performed voice-over for education and advocacy video "Donors without Borders" as part of a major project with the Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation. The project, "Donors without Borders: Rethinking how Australians fund childhood cancer research", focuses on the prioritisation and impact of philanthropic dollars raised to fight childhood cancer.

• Strategist
• Research, Development and Innovation consultancy to support the Research Office and the establishment of the Partnership Institute.
• Conducted high-level stakeholder discussions with academics, students, staff, and alumni in order to develop a new concept for a sustainable Research Partnership Institute (Roadmap for MGSM’s Partnership Institute report).

Strategic Advisor to Executive Director

Puerto Rico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (PRiMEX)

Puerto Rico

• PRiMEX is a private, non-profit organization created as an initiative of PRIDCO and sponsored by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the US Department of Commerce.
• Research, analysis, documentation and dissemination of critical economic development issues, i.e. public/private sector strategic planning, workforce development, innovation (product and process) and funding strategies.
• Designed, developed and drafted a proposal for funding to the Economic Development Administration (EDA) – Philadelphia Region thereby securing the first technical assistance award granted by the EDA Region to Puerto Rico. Once funded, the business retention and expansion project, Puerto Rico’s First World-Class Manufacturing Challenge, focused on an industry-specific technical assistance program for small to medium manufacturers seeking world-class competitiveness in manufacturing through productivity and innovation.

Economic & Workforce Development and Strategic Advisor

Grupo En Tándem, Inc. (GET)

Puerto Rico

• Governor's Office of Urbanism, Infrastructure and Environment
  Strategic Advisor 
• Co-authored and co-produced Global City Regions, a benchmarking initiative.
• Devised an interagency task force, operations and project management plan to ensure the successful implementation of the Governor of Puerto Rico’s strategic urbanism, infrastructure and environment projects.
• Developed “linkage strategies” for the alignment of resources and economic, workforce, urbanism, infrastructure and environmental issues.

• Municipal Government Land-Use Projects
  Strategic Advisor to municipalities on social, environmental and economic issues in the development of land-use plans.
• Research, analysis, documentation and dissemination of critical economic development issues.
• Extensive work with community-based organizations involved in Municipal land-use plans.

• Department of Transportation and Public Works
  Strategic Advisor on project management issues in a transit-oriented development initiative. 
• Analysis and recommendations for project management and economic development issues related to the design and implementation of the transit-oriented initiative Ciudad Red. 

• Portal Del Futuro Redevelopment Authority
  Strategic Advisor on social, economic and environmental issues in designing and implementing a former naval base (Roosevelt Roads) redevelopment plan.
• Research, analysis, documentation and dissemination of critical economic development issues in the land-use planning process.

Strategist to Regional Consortia

Hewlett-Packard

USA

• Designed a science and engineering fellowship training program for a consortium of corporate, academic and government entities to mitigate the high-skilled dislocations and layoffs in the Bay Area Region, including Silicon Valley (California).
• Analyzed funding streams and developed project communications and buy-in strategies for varying stakeholder groups.

Economic Development Consultant

Ana G. Mendez University System (SUAGM)

Puerto Rico

• Strategic advisor on the universities’ roles in community economic development projects and in regional economic development organizations, funding opportunities and federal affairs.
• Designed and drafted three winning proposals for funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
• Secured over $1.2 million in competitive federal grants to assist Hispanic-serving institutions of higher education expand their roles and effectiveness in addressing community development needs in their localities, consistent with the purposes of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act.

Advisor to Puerto Rico’s Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources on Economic Development

Puerto Rico Department of Labor

Puerto Rico

• Devised a strategic transformation plan that positions the development of a competitive workforce as critical to sustainable economic development. This plan involves improving the performance and investment strategies of the public workforce investment system as well as strategic alignment and co-location with the state’s economic development agency, the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO).
• Liaison to the US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Region I in Boston, the Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Program Director in Washington, DC and Puerto Rico’s Central Eastern Region’s WIRED Project.
• Department of Labor contact person to Puerto Rico’s Department of Economic Development and Commerce, PRIDCO and other economic development organizations.
• Intermediary between the Office of the Secretary, the State Workforce Investment Boards, Local Workforce Investment Boards and the Human Resources and Occupational Development Council (CDORH), the state agency that administers the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds.
• Led multi-agency and corporate collaboration for a newly formed aerospace engineering cluster, capitalizing on the highly skilled workforce from the now-defunct electronics industry in Puerto Rico.

Research Consultant to Director of Economic & Workforce Development

National Center on Education and the Economy

Washington D.C. Metro Area

• Research, analysis and documentation for the Ford Foundation Report, Responding in a Turbulent Economy: Creative Roles for Workforce Investment Boards (http://www.ncee.org/wfd/whitepapers).

Aide to the Executive Director

Human Resources and Occupational Development Council (CDORH)

Puerto Rico

• Directed CDORH’s Economic Development Office.
• Led the Private Sector Liaison Unit that sought to align the island’s workforce development needs with economic development strategies proposed by PRIDCO. The liaison unit provided technical assistance, formulated public policy and disseminated information. Sought to integrate the state and local workforce systems with the private sector.
• Project Manager for the “De la Aguja a la Tecnología” (from apparel to technology), an inter-agency effort to manage the needs of the thousands of dislocated workers from the apparel and leather sectors to re-employment in growing industries.

Economic Development Consultant to Director of Cruise Operations

Norwegian Seaman's Union

Puerto Rico

• Served as a key business liaison for establishing operations in Puerto Rico.
• Advised board of directors and developed working relationships with labor unions in Norway.
• Conducted research and market studies; designed operating budgets for impending operations.
• Responsible for designing and implementing service programs, operations plans, finance strategies and human resource manuals for the Port of San Juan Seafarer’s House.

Economic Development Consultant - Senior Project Manager

Agency Approval & Development (AA&D)

Jacksonville, Florida Area

• Developed, designed and produced an RFQ for the development of a mixed-used commercial project.
• Coordinated logistics and served as key liaison for successful negotiations of a Memorandum of Understanding, culminating in a Disposition and Development Agreement between the government and the selected developer.
• Conducted and executed successful projects that included economic development research, analysis and consulting; strategic business plans; corporate expansion and relocation; market, financial and developer sensitivity analyses; government and public relations; and project management.
• Participated actively with strategic alliances such as the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC), International Relations Marketing and Development Commission (IRMDC), the Florida Economic Development Commission (FEDC), the Council on Urban and Economic Development (CUED), the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the Organization for Women in International Trade (OWIT).

Research Assistant, Research Consultant and Project Manager, University of Wollongong

Centre for the Management for Integrated Technical and Organisational Change

Wollongong, Australia

• Project management responsibilities, including the monitoring of deadlines and budgets for Research/Consulting Center that specialized in innovation (product and process) in the workplace.
• Co-authored two monographs for the Australian Best Practice Demonstration Program.
• Coordinated, co-authored, designed and delivered a booklet series for an industry-government-academic collaborative project.
• Guest lectured at Australian and Indonesian universities, as well as conducted training sessions on organizational politics, change management and quality.
• Allocation of tasks to project team members, motivating project team members and preparing and delivering reports and presentations for clients and students.

University of Oklahoma, Economic Development Institute

Certificate in Economic Development

•  2004 - 2005

University of Wollongong

MBA, Strategic Management

•  1993 - 1995

Lafayette College

BA, Biology

•  1984 - 1988