Interim CEO
Wacif is led by Interim CEO Brendon Miller, who brings a twenty-year global and local track record of leadership, including more than fifteen years of experience accelerating inclusive entrepreneurship, equitable economic development, and community wealth building. With expertise at the intersection of leadership, development, and communications, Brendon has raised more than $300 million over his career and communicated through placements in top media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, and The Atlantic. Most importantly, Brendon’s work has helped transform lives; during his tenure with the Wacif, the organization has deployed $70 million to D.C. area communities and helped entrepreneurs create or retain more than 50,000 local jobs, while winning national and local recognition, including being twice named D.C. Nonprofit Organization of the Year (2018, 2022).
Prior to joining Wacif, Brendon served in global and domestic leadership roles as a political appointee, government official, and private sector executive. During his public sector career, Brendon helped launch the District Government’s small business export and SBIR programs, served as a senior communication staffer in the Executive Office of the Mayor, and brokered strategic partnerships that dramatically increased private philanthropy into D.C. Public Schools. His global private sector experience spans North America, Africa, and the Middle East and the Gulf, building partnerships to advance economic development, education, and health in those regions. During that time, both Brendon and his work won numerous awards, including two President’s Awards from RTI International, a Platinum Award from Marcom for outstanding digital content, and a President’s Diamond Award from the Public Relations Society of America D.C. Chapter for outstanding service as a Board Member.
Brendon earned a master’s degree in corporate and political communications from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the Leadership Montgomery Class of 2021 and Georgetown University’s New Strategies Class of 2021, and he has an Accreditation in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America.