Jeanette Brooks Priebe (born July 4, 1937) was the Tennessee-born Director of the Louisville Civil Service Board in Kentucky when she instituted the first affirmative action hiring program for the Louisville metro area public service personnel.
Instead of receiving only the top candidates, the hiring department would be able to review all applicants, assuring then that all were considered – including African Americans and women.
The new organizational process included a specific job classification system that took a year of intense analysis to complete.
Four years before, these descriptions were vague, and a class action suit had been filed on behalf of the one African-American employee.
Priebe once said, "Unless you're allowed to find the most qualified people, it's a literal misuse of tax money.