Retired teacher and administrator Brenda Snipes served for 15 years as the Supervisor of Elections for Broward County, Florida. Photo credit: Public Domain
Many public officials have also served their community as teachers in public schools. One of these is Dr. Brenda Snipes, a former high school teacher who served for many years as the Broward County Supervisor of Elections.
Brenda was born on Oct. 24, 1943, in Talladega, Alabama. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Modern Foreign Languages from Talladega University. She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Florida Atlantic University. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
Brenda inaugurated her career as an educator in 1964, when she accepted a position as a French teacher at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida. Over the next four decades, she worked with students of all ages, including elementary through adult education and vocational education. For some years, she served as the principal of Robert Markham Elementary School in Pompano Beach. As an administrator, Brenda developed training programs to identify and nurture potential future leaders in the school system. After a career that spanned a total of 39 years, Brenda retired from the teaching profession in 2003.
From 2003 to 2018, Brenda was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush to replace Mariam Oliphant as the Supervisor of Elections for Broward County, Florida. The former teacher was re-elected to the position in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. In this role, she established a voter registration booth for permanent legal residents newly sworn in as American citizens to register to vote. She obtained new voter equipment, worked to create an initiative to teach voters how to use the equipment, and invested heavily in staff and poll-worker training. She advertised upcoming elections by appearing on television, radio shows, and billboards and by having a voter outreach coordinator. Brenda retired from her position as Supervisor of Elections in 2018.
Brenda passed away on Nov. 2, 2023 in Pembroke Park, Florida, following a short illness. She was 80 years old. She is interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Talladega.
