Times Leader’s Distinctive Women: Brenda D. Colbert, Esq.
By Marcella Kester For Times Leader
DICKSON CITY — Brenda Colbert has been an advocate of the elderly and special needs people for more than 20 years.
Through her work, Colbert has assisted numerous clients through planning of estates, long-term and special-needs care, education and more.
Those efforts led the Times Leader to name Colbert one of 20 Distinctive Women in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Colbert began her journey as a social worker, earning her degree from Mansfield University.
For several years, she used her skills and knowledge to act as a voice for nursing home residents, realizing that she could do more to make a difference. Backed with knowledge, expertise and love of field, Colbert made the decision to enter law school.
She attended the Touro Law Center, where she earned her Juris Doctorate and graduated Magna Cum Laude. From there, Colbert entered the Miami University School of Law through a fellowship and completed with a Master of Laws in Estate Planning. Currently, Colbert has bar admissions in both New York and Pennsylvania and has been a Certified Elder Law Attorney since 2009.
“As an elder law attorney, I create individual plans to help our clients meet their estate planning goals and to protect their resources in the event that there is a present or future need for long-term care,” she said.
In 2012, Colbert and her partner, Kevin Grebas, created their own law firm that specialized in compassionate, elder care for Northeastern Pennsylvania. The firm has two offices in the region — one in Moosic and the other in Kingston — and carries three core standards, including providing expert services not only to older community members, but to the area as a whole while offering clients and their families peace of mind.
When Colbert isn’t in the office, she’s busy with her family. She is married with two children whom the couple formally adopted less than a year after starting the firm. Colbert admitted that balance between work and home has remained a key priority in her life.
“People often ask me how I was able to manage it all, a new firm and a new family all at the same time,” she said. “But my firm and my children are two of the greatest joys in my life, and I never saw either as a burden. “
“It is very important to me to balance my career with my family life.”
Not only has she balanced a career and home life, but Colbert has also remained incredibly active in the local community.
Carrying a philosophy of giving back to the area that’s helped her succeed, she volunteers her time at numerous organizations, including the CEO Food Bank, Little Sisters and Dunmore Senior Center to name a few.
Colbert has received numerous awards for her services to not just the elderly, but to her community, including the Samuel Falk Equal Access to Justice Award. The recent honor was bestowed upon her for her involvement in the Lackawanna Pro Bono’s inaugural Elder Law Clinic, which provides free legal services to low income seniors.
If that isn’t enough, Colbert makes sure to devote time and education to numerous elder boards in the area, and often speaks on the issue of elder law throughout area nursing and personal care homes, organizations and institutes.
When asked how it feels to be a leading woman in the area, Colbert admitted that she is a firm believer in women leaders, as well as women’s issues. Her advice to any young woman looking to follow their dreams is to also follow their heart.
“I believe in equality in the workplace and providing opportunities to capable women. Of the 10 support staff employed by Colbert & Grebas, nine are women,” she said. “I would advise any young woman who wishes to enter the field of social work or the law to follow her passion. I have found that I can do anything, so long as I love what I am doing.
