Andalusia native Denise Pitts Rogers was recently appointed the municipal probation officer for the City of Opelika.

Rogers has served as the magistrate for the city for eight years and thanks to a challenge from the Southern Poverty Law Center, the job as probation officer became available for her.

“It’s going very well,” she said. “I like helping individuals and this is a way for me to help rehabilitate repeat offenders.”

She said they see a lot of repeat offenders there.

“It’s gratifying to me to be able to point them in the right direction,” she said.

As part of her new role, Rogers is tasked with supervising the probation department in compliance with local and state laws and regulations.

She also serves as vice chairman of the city’s safety committee.

Rogers said she recently completed the 20 Under 40 Leadership Academy sponsored by the Opelika Chamber of Commerce.

She said she was proud to say that her hometown came up many times in discussion, specifically about the Christmas in Candyland event.

Rogers is a 1992 Andalusia High School graduate and is the daughter of Billy and Alma Pitts. She and her husband, Cedric, have one son, Braden.

She is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Faulkner University and will soon complete her master of science degree in management.