Conley, Brenda (Joyce) Edgerton 1948–

PERSONAL: Born November 14, 1948, in Louisburg, NC; daughter of Josephus Daniels and Georgine (Newman) Edgerton; married Leon F. Conley, Jr.; children: Leon F. III, Kraig J. Ethnicity: "African American." Education: Morgan State University, B.S. (business education), 1971, M.S. (education administration and supervision), 1981; George Washington University, Ed.D. (executive leadership program in human resource development), 1999; also attended Loyola College in Baltimore and Catonsville Community College.

ADDRESSES: Home—7400A Rockridge Rd., Baltimore, MD 21208. Office—University of Maryland, 3501 University Blvd. E., Adelphi, MD 20783. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Baltimore City Public School System, Baltimore, MD, junior-high-school business education teacher, 1971–72, senior-high-school business education teacher, 1972–80, staff associate in Division of Personnel, 1980–83, acting divisional specialist in Division of Human Resources and Labor Relations, 1983–84, staff specialist in Division of Personnel, 1984–86, staff director of personnel administration, 1986–88, director of human resources for Division of Human Resources and Labor Relations, 1988–92, director of policy development and leadership support in Bureau of Management Services, 1992, director of Department of Professional Development, Organizational Development, and Attitudinal Reform, 1992–93, assistant superintendent, 1993–98, project director for performance-based teacher evaluation project, 1998–2000; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, project coordinator for Project Site Support, 2000; University of Maryland, Adelphi, chair of teacher education programs, 2000–. Pritchett and Associates, Inc., certified trainer, 1996; Maryland Council of Staff Developers, member of board of directors, 2000–; Maryland State Teacher Education Council, member, 2000–; Towson University, program developer for Assistant Principal's Institute at Center for Leadership in Education, 2002–03; workshop presenter.

MEMBER: American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, American Society for Training and Development, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Academy for Human Resource Development, Consortium for Research and Educational Accountability in Teacher Education, National Association of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, National Staff Development Council, Phi Delta Kappa (Johns Hopkins University chapter).

AWARDS, HONORS: Wilson Foundation Humanitarian Award, Leadenhall Baptist Church, 1994; Thelma Banks Cox Service Award, Baltimore alumnae chapter, Delta Sigma Theta, 1998.

WRITINGS:

Alternative Schools: A Reference Handbook, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 2002.

Author of training materials for Baltimore City Public School System. Contributor to encyclopedias and periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS: Brenda Edgerton Conley told CA: "I guess I have always wanted to write. When I was a little girl, I always made up stories and wrote poems. I find that I can be creative when I put my mind to it. I have not ventured into fiction writing. I thought I would begin with a more academic topic. After completing my dissertation, I made a personal commitment to publish an article. Then the opportunity became available to write a reference handbook for publication. I have since written entries for encyclopedias.

"I find research and writing very exciting. When I get ready to write on a topic, I totally immerse myself in it. I make frequent visits to the library, search the Internet, and clip articles from newspapers and magazines. My process could in many ways be considered a bit messy because it is quite deductive. I always start from a very broad base and then work to narrow the topic so that it is manageable. That process is sometimes very long and drawn out for me. I also find that I put myself under unreasonable time pressures. It is not that I work best under pressure, but I can produce when I am on a tight schedule.

"I plan to continue writing and perhaps venture into poetry and fiction."