Get to know Brenda…
My parents taught me that community and family are one in the same, and this lesson never left me. We are all at our best when our community is at its best.
My Mom was a school aide, and my Dad ministered to small congregations after a career in the Navy. They put family and community first—and together.
They taught my brothers and me that our community was part of our family.
I came to Nashville to devote myself to public service, and I’m grateful to serve on the Metro Council. I’ve worked for two decades now on improving our neighborhoods, schools, and overall safety. This has always been a city where community feels like family.
The Richland West End neighborhood has been my home for a more than a decade. It has nurtured me, strengthened me, and provided me with friends, family, and opportunity.
In fact, this is the community where I met my husband, Floyd Shechter. We met while doing community advocacy work to create a more welcoming, inclusive Nashville.
I still believe that the most important work in community building is bringing together people of different backgrounds and opinions to find the underlying values. Nashville must provide quality public education, affordable places to live, and safe streets. Being your council member is not just a responsibility; it's a commitment. Every time you reach out, it's important to me.
I look forward to talking more with you and hearing your ideas to improve our community.
Brenda Gadd has the experience we can count on.
Developed consumer financial protections for all Nashvillians, assisting vulnerable people who experience fraudulent practices.
Served as a board member of the Metro Board of Equalization assisting residential and commercial property owners by carefully examining, comparing, and equalizing their property value assessments.
Worked with Governor Phil Bredesen as his legislative liaison for the Department of Environment and Conservation to protect public lands and ensure water quality in our communities.
Served on the Metro Gender Equity Council, where she and others championed Metro Government’s first family leave policy and an overhaul in its hiring practices.
Equipped resident and neighborhood organizations with the tools they need to preserve and improve the quality of life within their neighborhoods as a board member of Neighbor2Neighbor.
Advocated for the successful implementation of Metro's participatory budgeting system, which gives communities an opportunity to decide how government money is spent.
Led a coalition to protect funding for Nashville's first responders, public safety workers, teachers, community centers and public spaces called Save Nashville Now.
Served Nashville's premier leadership organization for women, Nashville Cable, as its President, receiving the Athena Award in 2019 for her community service.
Recognized by the Nashville Business Journal as one of its Women of Influence for her community advocacy work in 2020.
Brenda Gadd is committed to the Nashville family.
I believe what I learned from my parents is true of us here and now. Nashville is at its best when we are all at our best. These are the values that will guide me on the council.
Our city needs healing, hope and to be heard.
In just four years, we’ve experienced the devastation of gun violence on our children. We have experienced the wrath of natural disasters through tornadoes and violent winds. We have experienced a global pandemic and have seen that the very fabric of our community is held together often only by each other and a fragile safety net.
We have experienced head-spinning changes in our economy, government, and real estate speculation
that has some of us asking who we are and who we want to be.
Here is what I want our community to be
A community that remembers the most important thing we do every day is investing in public education and the future of our children and grandchildren. Metro Council passes the budget that funds our schools and aiding support programs that continue to strengthen Sylvan Park Elementary, West End Middle schools in District 24, and our children in all of our schools.
A community that connects and invests in our neighborhoods with safe, family-friendly infrastructure: sidewalks, safe and reliable transit, greenways, and parks. Access to our green spaces, parks, greenways, and walkable neighborhoods in District 24 is what makes it so special. We still have more to do.
A community that builds safe neighborhoods by investing in people, with opportunities to secure housing, education, and mental health services.
A community that prioritizes housing affordability. A community that makes houses attainable for our teachers, safety workers, firefighters, children, and family and makes Nashville a place that is as welcoming to live and stay to our grocers, bank tellers, hospitality, and food workers as it does our industry executives.
A community based on honoring our diverse faiths and backgrounds — and works daily to force out hate and end discrimination.
A community that comes together in the face of all of these challenges and works with each other – as neighbors to heal, hope, and take action.
A healthy community is made up of neighborhoods in which each of these is achieved.
Most of all, I want us to be a family where everyone has a seat at the table. I believe we do this by investing in our community – our neighborhoods.