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.

