From Los Alamitos, California, Brenna graduated from the University of San Francisco after earning a BA in Media Studies with a minor in theater. She went on to earn an MFA in Film Production with an emphasis in directing from Chapman University. She was closely mentored by directors David Ward and Martha Coolidge, and shadowed Martha on episode 103 of Angie Tribecca. Brenna participated in the competitive Filmmaker-In-Residence program with Gary Foster p.g.a. while developing her master’s thesis film Rocket, which throws the audience into the world of 1950’s dirt track racing, a world Brenna’s family history is steeped in. The short earned a Student Academy Award®, an Individual Merit Award for Best Director at the Richmond International Film Festival, awards in China, the UK, and has screened in over forty festivals in eight countries— including a screening at the Director’s Guild of America in Los Angeles.
Brenna’s experimental short Candy Apple Red world premiered at The Bentonville Film Festival. Her horror short The Birthday screened at genre festivals all over the U.S. Brenna shadowed executive producer and director Brad Buecker on episode 210 of Fox’s hit show 9-1-1 as a participant of Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative. In the spring of 2019, Brenna directed a feature documentary about activist Manal Al-Sharif’s Freedom Drive across America.
Brenna prides herself on her leadership and management skills, her focus on performance, her dynamic coverage of scenes, and the passion she bears for bringing female characters with depth to the silver screen. She is represented by The Radmin Company.