Theis is the Human Resources Manager for the Urban League of the Upstate in Greenville, SC. At the area economic development agency, she provided Upstate residents with employment opportunities for four and a half years.

Among her work is a lengthy record of volunteer acts. In her free time, she helps with Right Step Juvenile Diversion, an Urban League program designed to give youth in the juvenile justice system another chance at success.

For participants of the Right Step program, as well as youth in Urban League's Pre-College Enrollment program, Theis teaches how to prepare resumes and cover letters, instructs how to conduct job searches and gives tips to dress for success and for codes of conduct in work environments.

In her immediate community, the Freetown area of Greenville, she serves as secretary of the community association. In this role she prepares newsletters and correspondence to keep residents informed and does events coordination. She reflects on a recent activity, Freetown's first "Night Out" event, which was successful in raising awareness for safety and encouraged unity for Freetown residents.

With a recent partnership with Hands on Greenville, Theis was able to help local senior citizens with beautification and similar outdoor efforts. It's not a surprise that gardening is one of her favorite hobbies.

She states that the partnership is just one sign of the progress within her neighborhood as well as the Upstate as a whole. It is this progress that kept Brenda Theis in the Upstate, when she had the opportunity in 2002 to relocate overseas. She admits Greenville County, where both of her parents reside, is becoming a more and more desirable place to live.

Theis has managed to incorporate the knowledge she gained in the military to become successful in non-profit management. She states that it is her love of education that has made the transition so easy. On her agenda for 2007 is to facilitate helping Upstate residents receive their G.E.D.'s.

"Education is the foundation of everything. Knowledge is the one thing that can never be taken away," says Theis.