Brenda Hunter Pitts
Ms. Pitts followed her CHS education with a B.S. degree in English from Indiana University and went on to a distinguished career at Cummins, Inc. Brenda led the global Human Resources organization at Cummins and helped establish the company’s nationally respected diversity, equity, and inclusion framework. She became the first African American woman Vice President in the company’s history.
During her career at Cummins and after retirement she has served and led a variety of community organizations dedicated to education, civil rights, historical preservation, and community development – including Bartholomew County Human Rights Commission, Laws Foundation, Bartholomew County Historical Society, Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation, NAACP, Faith Ministries, and the Mayor’s Task Force on Diversity.
She has served on the Board of Trustees for both Franklin College and Wilberforce University. In 1999 she was recognized for her community leadership and service to Columbus through a mayoral proclamation establishing “Brenda Pitts Day”.
Since her retirement, Brenda has devoted much of her time to historical research and preservation focusing on the contributions of African Americans in Columbus, including extensive genealogical research documenting her ancestors’ deep connection to the abolitionist movement. She continues to share her findings through national reunions and lectures and has been recognized as an expert source for historians and authors.