Previously, Attorney Brien founded the Greenwich Business Club Inc., a business networking group that gave back to the community. He also worked at UJA-Federation of New York as the Director of its Entertainment, Media & Communications Division. Over a ten-year period, Attorney Brien led national fundraising campaigns that raised over fifty-million dollars for non-profit health and human service agencies in New York, Israel and around the world. With Courtney Sale Ross and Martin D. Payson, Attorney Brien co-founded the Steven J. Ross Humanitarian Award, named in honor of Steve Ross, founder of Time-Warner Inc. The Ross Award has been bestowed upon luminaries including Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Sir Howard Stringer, Ivan Seidenberg. Robert C. Wright, Thomas Middelhoff and Rupert Murdoch. Attorney Brien founded the UJA-Federation of New York Music for Youth and Sports for Youth Foundations. At the request of Attorney Brien, Tom Freston, former chairman of MTV Networks, funded the Music for Youth Foundation’s musical instrument lending library at Bronx House. Attorney Brien also founded the Spirit of Music Award that was given to music industry leaders including Ahmet Ertegun, Russell Simmons, Daniel Glass, Fred Davis and Lyor Cohen.
