Capt. Brenda Berkman: “From NYU Law to the FDNY”

Birnbaum Women's Leadership Network

Recorded in September 2017 - Capt. Brenda Berkman ’78 retired as a Captain in the New York City Fire Department after serving the City for 25 years. She was assigned to firehouses in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Capt. Berkman began her career in the fire service after winning the federal sex discrimination lawsuit she initiated that resulted in the hiring of New York City's first women firefighters. The documentary Taking the Heat, which chronicles Berkman’s struggle to integrate women into the FDNY, aired on PBS in 2006 and is available on YouTube. She has also been profiled in several books and numerous articles. In 1996-97, Capt. Berkman served as a White House Fellow, the first professional firefighter to be awarded this prestigious leadership development fellowship in the history of the program. She has led both local and national women firefighters’ organizations. Since retirement from the FDNY, Capt. Berkman’s passions have shifted to printmaking and volunteer work. Her art can be viewed at her website, Brenda Berkman Artworks. She volunteers as a walking tour guide at the 9-11 Memorial in New York City to honor her friends and colleagues who were lost on 9-11, and to help educate visitors.