Brenda Dietrich is a wife, mother, an educator, and a life-long Republican who was born in Colby, Kansas where her grandparents and aunts and uncles farmed thousands of acres in Thomas County. Her parents moved the family to McPherson, Kansas when she was in 5th grade. She graduated from McPherson High School, then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Kansas State University. She earned her Master’s Degree in Education Administration and her Ph.D. in Education Administration with a minor in Business Management from UMKC while working for the Fort Leavenworth School District, USD 207.

During her career, Brenda has been a teacher, building administrator and Superintendent. She retired in 2015 after 40 years in public education. The last 14 years of her career were spent as the Superintendent of the Auburn-Washburn School District in Topeka, Kansas, where she was honored as Kansas Superintendent of the year in 2007. During her career, Brenda has been actively involved in the community as a volunteer, serving many different roles, and in Topeka South Rotary, where she is a Paul Harris Fellow. She is a strong believer in giving back to the community and is committed to giving back whenever and wherever she can. Brenda is currently active with the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library, Jayhawk Area Council of Boy Scouts, Rotary, Visit Topeka, Kansas Starbase, and United Way.

In 2020, Brenda was elected to the Kansas Senate to serve the 20th District. Her previous House District sits almost entirely within the new Senate District. Brenda will serve on 5 Senate Committees….Education, Financial Institutions, Insurance, Transportation, and Federal and State Affairs. She will also Chair the Joint Committee on Special Claims Against the State, and serve on the Joint Committee on Pensions, Investments, and Benefits.

Brenda has previously served in the Kansas House for 2 terms. She was first elected in 2016 to represent the 52nd House District and she was re-elected again in 2018, where she was appointed Vice-Chair of Education, and served on several House committees over the past 4 years…. K-12 Education Budget, Financial Institutions and Pensions, Veterans, General Government Budget, Children and Seniors and is still Vice-Chair of the legislative Task Force on Dyslexia.

Brenda has been married to Jerry for 40 years and they have a daughter, Lauren, who graduated from Washburn Rural in 2004 and Kansas State University in 2009.