Brennan is president and chief executive officer of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. The Foundation is a community-centered, equity-forward organization with a mission to drive positive, sustainable change in Charlottesville and its surrounding communities. As president, her primary responsibility is to oversee all aspects of the Foundation’s strategy, vision and operations. The Foundation manages over $255 million in assets and distributes over $25 million in grants annually.

Prior to becoming president, Brennan served as director of the Foundation’s grantmaking programs. As director, she oversaw community investments in the areas of rural food insecurity, maternal and infant health disparities, education, community redevelopment, and greenway trail networks. Brennan has been with the Foundation since 2010.

Brennan gained national recognition for her work to create the Foundation’s Heal Charlottesville Fund. Formed immediately after the August 2017 white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, the Fund was the primary provider of financial assistance to survivors devastated by the acts of terror. The Fund also made grants to initiatives advancing racial equity and seeking to build power among black and brown communities. In 2018, the Council on Foundations selected Brennan to receive its Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking in recognition of her work on the Heal Charlottesville Fund.

Under her leadership, the Foundation has grown its influence in the Central Virginia region and mobilized philanthropy to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Foundation was awarded the 2020 Truist Promise Award from the Southeast Council on Foundations (Philanthropy Southeast) for its innovative response.

Brennan has also evolved the Foundation toward a more proactive and aligned organization that better leverages its capital and capabilities for lasting and transformative change. She has strengthened operations, built internal infrastructure, reshaped organizational culture, and launched new partnerships to further enhance the foundation’s community leadership and impact.

Brennan serves on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foundations. She is a former co-chair of the University of Virginia’s President’s Council on University-Community Partnerships and continues to serve as a member of the Council.

Drawing on over 10 years of executive leadership and management experience, Brennan consults with organizations for strategic planning, organizational development, and executive coaching.

A native of Iowa, Brennan holds a degree in philosophy from the University of Iowa and is a distinguished Ron Brown Scholar, Davidson Fellow Laureate and graduate of the Council on Foundations Career Pathways Program. Brennan and her husband, Andre, live in Charlottesville with their four young daughters.