Brenda T. Boyd was born and raised in New Jersey and lived in Piscataway, New Jersey before she and her husband, Arthur, purchased their first home in The Villages in January 2005.  They currently reside in the Village of Virginia Trace.

Brenda and Arthur are the proud parents of Arthur III and Kellee Ann Boyd.  They are also the honored grandparents of three grandchildren, Anaya (15), Oliver (5) and Arthur IV (5). Brenda feels “there are but a few joys in life that are greater than being a grandparent.”  A large part of Brenda’s life now revolves around her grandchildren.

Brenda is a retired educator, school principal and educational consultant with over forty years of experience.  She holds a BA in Special Education, an MA in Learning Disability and a Post master’s Certification in School Administration. She has additional certifications from Princeton’s Principal Leadership Conference and in Conflict Resolution/Mediation, Suicide Prevention and Brain –based Teaching and Learning Styles.  As a consultant, Brenda provided workshops and training to educational staff, students, parents, community members and state agencies.

After learning about the true history of African Americans as a senior in High School, Brenda became a passionate advocate for racial and social justice.  She and her husband Arthur introduced Kwanzaa and Black History Festivals to their schools, communities, family, and friends.  When she saw the schools were not teaching the true history of African Americans, she started a “Saturday School” for African American students and their parents who wanted to learn their history.   She fought racism and discrimination wherever she found it. It did not matter the ethnic background, socio-economic background, or gender. She ultimately sued her School District for discrimination, and won, at a time when this was unheard of. She also was the recipient of the NAACP Role Model Award.

Brenda and Arthur stumbled on The Villages by accident.  On their honeymoon to Florida some fifty years ago, Arthur fell in love with Florida. Five years before she retired, she and Arthur would spend two weeks each summer exploring a different part of Florida. One summer, they were visiting Central Florida, in the Ocala area, and while dining mentioned to their waitress that they were looking for a place to retire.  She suggested that they visit The Villages.  Arthur, who was an avid golfer at the time, had heard of The Villages and thought they should go and look.  He loved all the golf courses and swimming pools.  Brenda didn’t see anyone who looked like her and was not impressed.  However, she did like the houses. So, they came down on the Lifestyle visits for a couple of years. While visiting Spanish Springs Square one evening, they met Ben and Annamay Moore and then Lawrence and Mamie Parker and a few other African Americans.  That was all that Brenda needed.  She was sold on The Villages. The number of African Americans in The Villages at that time was relatively small. So, they naturally bonded like family.  They golfed, played cards, had parties, hosted cookouts, cook-ins and traveled together.  You name it, they were doing it.  There was a sense of freedom and camaraderie.

After moving to The Villages, the first group that Brenda joined was The African American Club. She took an active role in the group.  Over the years, she was a part of the Social Committee, Hospitality Committee, planned many Black History and Kwanzaa Programs and served on any other committees where she was needed.  She was a member of the first Scholarship Golf Tournament committee and Chaired and Co-Chaired the Scholarship Committee.  She and Arthur were one of the first couples to receive The African American Club’s Presidential Award. Brenda also knew she needed to volunteer and give back.  So, she became a tutor at Wildwood Middle/ High School. This led her to become a Guardian Ad Litem, an advocate for abused children in the courts.

Brenda’s second passion is travel and she was a group leader for many of the trips for members of The African American Club.  She has arranged local, state, national and international trips for six to one hundred travelers. She is also a member of The Women’s Literary Club of The Villages, the Dazzling Divas, The Women’s Prayer Circle, The Changing Hearts Initiative, and the Social Justice Sunday School Class at New Covenant United Methodist Church where she is a member.  She is still very much involved in social justice issues.

Brenda gives all praise and honor to God who is the head of her life.  She knows that she is here, in The Villages, because of God’s grace and mercy.  She enjoyed every minute that she has lived here.  Although The Villages is not perfect, she cannot imagine anywhere else she would want to live.  While living here, she has met some of the most accomplished, kind, helpful, and caring people that she has ever met in her life.