OUR COMMUNITY
S
everal hundred people were at
the Detroit Institute of Arts when
Brenda Naomi Rosenberg celebrat-
ed the launch of her new two-volume photo
autobiography Charmed.
During the launch, she was carrying a
purse with a picture of a Santa Bear on it.
While she was standing near the Diego
Rivera Court, a stranger came up to her and
exclaimed about it. Little did that person
know they had just met the “mother” of the
Santa Bear, one of many interesting facets of
the life of Brenda Rosenberg, who launched
the iconic stuffed animal as an executive at
J.L. Hudson’s department store.
“Every room we went in, people were
commenting on the Santa Bear,
” Rosenberg
said. “It puts a smile on people’s faces during
these dark and challenging times.
”
Like her book’s title, Rosenberg has led a
charmed life, from fashion industry glam-
our girl, style icon, trendsetting designer
and globe-trotting photographer to becom-
ing a life coach, community and interna-
tional peacebuilder, and author.
Charmed is a pictorial journey through
an extraordinary life. All proceeds from the
book will support educational initiatives of
the DIA.
“I just want to inspire young girls to know
that you can have fun, travel the world and
still make a contribution,
” Rosenberg said.
“The whole world is open to us, but it’s up
to us to make the difference.
”
STILL INNOVATING
Rosenberg asked one of her interns, a young
Albanian Muslim woman, what she found
most interesting about the book. “I thought
for sure she would mention the fact that I
was the first Jewish woman to speak at a
mosque, but, no, she was most interested in
my idea for ‘Bad Bitch,
’” Rosenberg said.
Back in the 1980s, Rosenberg attempted
to trademark the words “Bad Bitch” to put
on a T-shirt but could not because it was
considered an obscenity. Well, times have
changed, said Rosenberg, who recently
trademarked the “Bad Bitch Club.
”
She plans to put the logo on merchan-
dise like sneakers and jackets, but with one
catch, however. “No one can buy anything
until they commit to make their mark in
the world, and there’s a whole range of
things people can do to make their mark,
”
she said.
Trailblazer Rosenberg has certainly made
her mark, most recently as a peacemaker.
She founded the Tectonic Leadership pro-
gram with Samia Moustapha Bahsoun with
the goal to make a more beautiful world by
breaking barriers and reframing relation-
ships, using creativity to actualize change.
Rosenberg said she’s not done yet. “Stay
tuned,
” she said. “There’s more to come.
”
Buy Charmed at https://diashop.org/charmed-the-
memoirs-of-a-changemaker-rosenberg.
Brenda Rosenberg launches new book
to support the DIA.
Charmed!
24 | JUNE 30 • 2022
JACKIE HEADAPOHL DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL
Brenda Rosenberg,
center, with friends
Sandra Seligman and
Peggy Daitch at the
launch of Charmed at
the Detroit Institute
of Arts.