Member Spotlight

Kathy Brutinel

Volunteer Treasurer & Bookkeeper

Ask any member of the Diversity Council’s Board or staff and they will tell you Kathy Brutinel is an indispensable part of the Diversity Council’s organization.  Because Kathy only reluctantly steps into the spotlight, some may not recognize her pivotal role in the   organization.  Over the past 6 years, Kathy has volunteered more than 5000 hours as Treasurer on the Diversity Council’s Board of Directors, as bookkeeper on the office staff, and as informal editor and writer for some of the Diversity Council’s publications. 

Growing up in Great Falls, Montana, Kathy probably wouldn’t have predicted how important the mission of the Diversity Council would become to her.  She had little direct exposure to people of different races, cultures or religions.

“Of course, there were people who were different, mostly Native Americans.  I didn’t know them personally, but I knew the stereotypes.  My prejudices were mostly ignorance, but I was able to keep an open mind.” 

Kathy left Great Falls to attend Stanford University, where she studied English Literature and met her future husband Mark Brutinel. 

In 1975, after Mark completed medical school and an internship, Kathy and Mark moved to the Navajo Reservation in Tuba City, Arizona.  It was here that Kathy’s prejudices and open-mindedness were tested. 

“For the first time I was living in a place where my assumptions weren’t the same assumptions as the majority.  My ideas about how the world worked, our place in nature, and how people relate to each other were challenged every time I walked out the door.  For the first time, I really understood that people lived in totally different ways, and their way was just as real and natural to them as my world was to me.” 

Three years later, Kathy and Mark relocated to Rochester where they started a family with son Evan and daughter Brianne.  While working and raising a family in Rochester, Kathy’s experiences in Tuba City and her commitment to social justice continued to shape her thoughts. 

When conflicts between the majority Rochester population and Southeast Asian immigrants escalated in the early 1990s, Kathy was moved to action.

Kathy shares, “For many years, I really didn’t do much about what I learned living with a different culture on the reservation.  When I read about the struggles of immigrants in the newspaper, I realized that I wasn’t actively making anyone feel welcome.  That’s when I became a Girl Scout leader and merged my daughter’s troop with a group of Cambodian girls who had been mentored by a teacher at Jefferson.  At about the same time I started volunteering in at my kids’ schools, eventually working in ESOL classrooms for about 4 years.” 

In 2000, Kathy met George Thompson and became Treasurer of the Diversity Council. According to Kathy, “I found a place where my accounting and writing skills can make a difference in the community—and I still learn something every day. I love being a part of the Diversity Council because our educational programs open people’s minds and offer a new way to think about both ourselves and others, and I can see positive things happening in Rochester. 

“You always have to be thinking about what future you want for your children. I believe that if you want to create a successful and peaceful community—free of prejudice and discrimination—you have to do something about it.  If you simply sit on the sidelines and think positive thoughts, nothing will change.  We can’t all be leaders, but we can all do something.”

1130 1/2 7th St NW, Suite 204 , Rochester, MN 55901 · Tel: 507.282.9951 · Fax: 507.282.9964 · info@diversitycouncil.org

Diversity...It's all about respect.