Brenna Schmidt (she/her) serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator for the Mayor’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI). Brenna’s work with ODEI has been concentrated on helping to implement DEI practices into the framework of City government, particularly within the workforce through the City Resource Group initiative. Brenna graduated from Temple University in 2017 with a B.A. in Political Science and is currently pursuing her Master’s in City Planning with a concentration in Housing, Community, and Economic Development at the University of Pennsylvania. Brenna’s interests include advocating for underserved communities in cities through design and equity-based policies. In her spare time, Brenna enjoys reading, playing with her cats, and playing board games with friends.
Celena (she/her) is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs. Originally from North Carolina, during her years working with nonprofits, Celena helped educate communities, businesses, agency boards, colleges, non-profit organizations, and religious establishments. She supported trans- and gender-nonconforming individuals as they developed the knowledge and skills necessary to promote sobriety.
As the Director of Programs at the William Way LGBT Community Center, she was instrumental in opening the Arcila-Adams Trans Resource Center. Celena served on the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations from 2018 – 2020 and was honored as one of Philadelphia Pride’s 2019 Grand Marshalls. Philadelphia Magazine named her one of the 76 Most Influential Philadelphians in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, she became the first openly transgender person to ever lead an office in the city.
