Brenda Linnington is the Director of the Better Business Bureaus’ (BBB) Military Line®, a national program providing consumer education and advocacy for service members and their families. She has held this position since January 2011. She oversees a wide reaching coordinated effort that works with the Department of Defense (DoD) as a partner in the DoD Financial Readiness Campaign and fosters outreach from BBBs to military communities across the United States. BBB Military Line is also a partner in the “Joining Forces Initiative” spearheaded by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. Currently, BBB Military Line has active Memorandums of Understanding with DoD and all of the Armed Services and the Coast Guard.
In her present position, Mrs. Linnington works to establish strong effective relationships between local BBB personnel and military authorities. She continues to guide and develop financial readiness curricula, maintains a robust military consumer online presence, and partners with like-minded organizations seeking to support members of the military community in a variety of venues. In addition, she publishes a monthly military consumer newsletter, “The Trusted Scout,” provides BBB consumer weekly tips to Military OneSource, manages two social media accounts, and oversees information posted on BBB Military Line web sites devoted to each of the Armed Services. She works very closely with all BBB organizations throughout the country and encourages each BBB to implement BBB Military Line in their local service areas.
An Army Veteran, former finance officer, current active duty military spouse of more than 31 years, and mother of an Army Aviator, Mrs. Linnington has significant experience working on numerous DoD military family programs. She worked with the former National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), now Child Care Aware® of America on the Army Respite Child Care expansion project that is focused on increasing accessibility of qualified paid child care opportunities to geographically dispersed Army Families. Other areas of her work experience include the Army’s Exceptional Family Member Respite Child Care Program and the Army’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program. She also served as a primary and secondary school counselor in school systems highly populated with military families.
Brenda Linnington is a 1981 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and has a master’s degree in education from Long Island University. As a military volunteer, she is a recipient of the Department of the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal.
