Sondra Bolte
Sondra earned her MBA in Finance at Indiana University Kelley
School of Business in 1981. Upon graduation, she came to Columbus to
work for Cummins Inc. in Finance. Since then, Sondra has also worked
in Human Resources and is currently the HR Director of Ethics
Investigations, with worldwide responsibility. She has been involved
in diversity and inclusion activity at Cummins for over 20 years.
Sondra was the recipient of the 2008 William R. Laws Human Rights
Award for her volunteer work in Columbus. In support of healthy
families, she served as president of Family Services, Inc. Board of
Directors, and volunteered as a CASA (Court Appointed Special
Advocate) for abused and neglected children. Humanitarian endeavors
include volunteering with the Empty Bowls dinner every year since
its inception, as well as frequently participating with Housing
Partners, Inc. to improve living conditions for needy families in
the county. She has also worked with United Way and CECCF, the
charity arm of Cummins Inc. in surrounding Southern Indiana
counties.
In the arts, Sondra served as president of the Theatre Arts Guild
Board for several years. She was also stage manager and even acted
in some of the productions of Theatre Arts Guild and Mill Race
Players. In service to the city and its many diverse members, she
was a founding member and presently holds a leadership position with
the Gay Straight Alliance of Columbus. She also is a co-founder and
steering committee member of the Inclusive Community Coalition. She
has been president of the Board of Trustees of the Unitarian
Universalist Congregation of Columbus, and currently she is
Secretary of the Board.
In 2008 Sondra ran as a Democrat for one of three open seats on the
Bartholomew County Council. This was her first time to run for
political office and although she lost the race, she came in fourth
out of six candidates and collected significantly more votes than
any of the other defeated Democratic candidates.
Currently Sondra is running for a seat on the Columbus City Council
in the November 2011 election.
Sondra lives in Columbus with her partner of 10 years and has two
daughters who grew up here in Columbus. She is the proud grandparent
of four delightful children. She enjoys running, biking, gardening,
Sudoku and just about any home improvement project. Sondra also won
4 gold medals at the Gay Games VII in Chicago in 2006. Sondra’s
website is www.vote4sondra.com.
Sondra began her political involvement at age 18 when she
volunteered for and was privileged to meet presidential candidate
Sen. Robert Kennedy. In the late 60’s, she campaigned around Indiana
towns for Lee Hamilton for Congress. Sondra recently served as the
Secretary of the Bartholomew County Central Committee of the
Democratic Party.
