Senator Dietrich Receives Community Volunteer Award
On Wednesday, May 15, Senator Brenda Dietrich was presented with the annual Junior League of Topeka Community Volunteer Award. This award is presented to a member of the Topeka and Shawnee County community who has made outstanding contributions to where we live.
“Brenda has long been an influential leader of the Topeka Community. Due to her public roles as Superintendent of Auburn Washburn School District (now retired) and current roles in the Kansas Legislature, she often doesn’t serve in the prominent positions of chair or president. Yet, she leads from within consistently and steadily,” said Erin Aldridge, JLT sustaining member who nominated Senator Dietrich and former JLT President.
“I am thoroughly impressed each year with every organization she is involved in plus the numerous legislative committees she serves on and/or leads. She’s not one of those Board members who just ‘shows up’ she participates, she leads and makes nearly every obligation she has. She leads with grace and poise and epitomizes a community leader and servant,” Aldridge continued.
Senator Brenda Dietrich is the former Superintendent of the Auburn-Washburn School District in Topeka and served the district for 14 years, from 2001-2015. She devoted 40 years to public education and has always been actively engaged in professional activities throughout the state and the Topeka community.
Senator Dietrich graduated from McPherson High School and received her B.S. in Education from Kansas State University. She has a Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in Education Administration. She taught for 9 years (English and Speech/Drama) before becoming an administrator. She has been a Jr. High Administrator, Asst. Superintendent, and a Superintendent in Massachusetts for 5 years, and in USD 437 for 14 years. Senator Dietrich was selected as Kansas Superintendent of the Year in 2007 and was one of 4 finalists for National Superintendent of the Year. She was appointed to the KS Advisory Board for Juvenile Justice, and elected to the American Association of School Administrators Governing Board. She is also the past president of the Kansas School Superintendent’s Association.
Senator Dietrich has been actively engaged in professional activities throughout the state. She is the past Chair of the Board of Leadership Kansas (Class of ’05), has served on the United Way of Greater Topeka Board, Family Service and Guidance Center, the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, Visit Topeka, Heartland Visioning, Junior Achievement, HCCI, Topeka Shawnee County Public Library Foundation Board, and is currently on the Board of the Jayhawk Area Council of Boy Scouts and StarBase. Senator Dietrich is a graduate of Leadership Greater Topeka (2004), a Paul Harris Fellow, and a member of Topeka South Rotary.
In 2015, she was honored as the Topeka ABWA Woman of Distinction and with the YWCA Women in Leadership Award.
Senator Dietrich is finishing her 8th year in the Kansas Legislature…..4 years in the Kansas House and 4 years in the Kansas Senate. She is running for re-election to a 2nd term in the Senate. She currently serves as Vice-Chair of Commerce, Chair of Claims Against the State, and is a member of the Education, Transportation and Financial Institutions and Insurance Committees. She is a School Finance Fellow with the National Council of State Legislators and is a graduate of the Legislative Leadership programs for Council of State Governments….BILLD and Toll. She also was selected to attend the National Security Seminar at the War College in Pennsylvania in 2019, which was quite an interesting experience!
Senator Dietrich loves being involved in the community and is a firm believer in the power of public education to make a difference in the lives of all children. She is devoted to making her small part of the world a better place and has always believed that you can always do one more thing than you think you can!
She was married for 41 years to her husband, Jerry, who passed away in 2021. Their daughter, Lauren, is a graduate of Washburn Rural High School and Kansas State University and is gainfully employed and living in Lenexa.
