The Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women.

Sen. Debbe Leftwich

Debbe Leftwich, State Senator from District 44 in South Oklahoma City, was elected in a special election December 9, 2003 to fill the vacancy left by her husband, Senator Keith Leftwich who died of cancer in September that year. She was re-elected in 2006.

She authored the Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment bill, the Quality Investment Act, the Graduated Driver’s License Program and major Nursing Home Reforms, along with bills that increased fines and punishments for crimes of Domestic Violence, increased statute of limitations for sex crimes against children, expanded the Victims Impact Panel’s DUI programs, enhanced penalties for negligent homicide and created Oklahoma’s Elevator Safety Act. She’s pushed freezing property taxes for seniors and tax cuts for retirees and veterans. She’s supported raising teacher’s pay to the regional average, additional funding and accountability to our schools as well as performance audits for state government.

Debbe serves on Business & Labor, Transportation, Retirement & Insurance and General Appropriations committees. In addition to the legislative committees she serves on, Debbe has been appointed to various boards, committees and commissions.

She currently serves as:

• Chair of the Oklahoma Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Advisory Committee
• Co-Chair of Oklahoma Women’s Legislative Caucus
• Co-Chair of Oklahoma’s Cancer Caucus
• Member of Oklahoma Women’s Coalition
• Member of YMCA Youth & Government Advisory Board

Debbe also served on the Attorney General’s Task Force to improve End-of-Life Care as well as a Governor’s appointee to the Oklahoma Health Information Security & Privacy Collaboration Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Commission on the Status of Women (and past Chair), Youth Services SKIL Board, the American Legion Auxiliary, South OKC Rotary and the South OKC Chamber of Commerce.

Her efforts have earned Leftwich special recognition from the Oklahoma Nurses Association, Oklahoma Unified Chiropractic Association, AARP, Oklahoma Association of Marriage and Family, Oklahoma Safe Kids Coalition, AARP and Oklahoma Aging Partnership. She also has received an Action Award from the American Cancer Society and in 2008 was inducted into the Oklahoma Institute of Child Advocacy’s Hall of Fame. In 2009, she was honored by Oklahoma State Home Builders Association with their “Champions of the Industry” Award and was selected as one of the Oklahoma Journal Record’s “50 Making a Difference”.

Debbe has worked in both the private and public sectors. She has held management, supervisory and administrative positions for Globe Life, Aetna, Kerr McGee and the OSU Extension Center. She was Division Administrator and then later Director of Administration and Personnel for the Chief Medical Examiner’s office. She’s had training and experience in Strategic Planning, Government Purchasing and Administrative Law. Debbe has conducted training sessions in Strategic Planning, Grassroots Campaigning and Group Advocacy. She served as a member of the Office of Personnel Management’s Advisory Council and the Employee Benefit Coordinator’s Association.

Debbe is also a past president of her hometown Alumni Association, a past PTA Vice-Chair, former Sunday school teacher and assistant little league coach. She is a member of Southern Hills United Methodist Church. She was born in Chandler, grew up in Wellston, Oklahoma, and graduated from Wellston High School, and attended Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of Central Oklahoma. Debbe has two sons, Kevin and Kurt.

Terry Neese, Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women

DR. TERRY NEESE is founder and CEO of the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW). She leads the organization to accomplish its mission via two programs, both domestic and international training for women business owners in the area of public policy and entrepreneurial education.

Peace Through Business – educates and empowers women entrepreneurs in developing countries to achieve their dream of financial independence and community involvement as a woman owned business. Since its creation in 2007, the program has trained over 150 women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda.

Empowering Women – a book and training program authored by Dr. Neese that encourages women business owners to affect change through involvement in public policy. Training sessions have been held in more than 15 states.

Founder of Terry Neese Personnel Services, and an inductee into the National and Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fames, Terry is a past national president of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), the largest women’s association of its kind. Terry’s involvement with women business owners and family issues is well documented through her participation in the following:

• Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP); Co-Founder and Past President – WIPP joins together a membership across the nation totaling over half-million women entrepreneurs and executives and serves as a voice for women in business at the United States Capitol.
• National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA); Distinguished Fellow – Terry led the organization’s Family Policy Center, where she developed policy ideas that helped women, families, and small businesses keep more of their earned money, and make better financial and health choices. In addition, Terry conducted bipartisan briefings on family issues with congressional leaders and their staffs and has regularly testified before the U.S. House and Senate.

A successful businesswoman, Terry made history in 1990 when she became the first woman nominated by a major political party for the seat of Lt. Governor of Oklahoma. She was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the “Power 30” – the most influential small businesspersons in Washington, D.C. She was named an Outstanding Business Leader by Northwood University Board of Trustees in 2006. In 2008, Northwood University bestowed Terry with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Terry has been appointed to numerous councils and positions with nominations by prominent leaders, such as Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Terry is also a pilot and a member of the Ninety-Nines. She is married to Earl N. Neese. Their daughter, Kim Neese, is CEO of Terry Neese Personnel Services and is the proud mom of Emily and Erin. They all reside in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Dr. Susan Chambers, Lakeside Women's Hospital

I get the same satisfaction from delivering babies and caring for women today as I did twenty years ago. The experience I have gained over the years has given me much empathy for the day-to-day circumstances women have to deal with in our world.

Primary specialty: Obstetrics & Gynecology
Hospitals: Primary: Lakeside Women’s Hospital/Secondary: Integris Baptist Medical Center

License: State of Oklahoma/Oklahoma Board of Medical Examiners

Certifications: American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Languages: English and some Spanish

Clinical Interest: Preconception counseling & Preterm labor

Degrees: BS, Biology, MD

Education: Southern Methodist University/University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine

Internships: Oklahoma Teaching Hospitals

Residencies: Oklahoma Teaching Hospitals/Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Professional Affiliations: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist, American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, Oklahoma State Medical Society, Oklahoma County Medical Society, Oklahoma City Obstetrics and Gynecology Society

Sharron Jackson

Sharron is Director of the Business Development Center-North, at the Business and Industry Services Division for Metro Technology Centers. She has been with Metro Tech for over nine years starting as a Consultant and Trainer before accepting the position of Training Coordinator then Director. Her responsibilities have included working with companies on all of their training and employee development needs and now providing business coaching for start up and existing small businesses. Sharron is the host and creator of “The Bis Coach” radio show on AM 1140, Perry Broadcasting Company. The show airs on once a week and is podcast on iTunes.

Sharron has a very diverse background in human resources, financial and budgeting management, fund raising, leadership and coaching management, along with sales and marketing. She is also the owner of Complete Business Solutions, LLC. The company provides business coaching, business plan writing, strategic planning and marketing / branding services.

She is a Certified Trainer and Facilitator, Executive Coach, and Certified Program Planner

Memberships and Associations: Active member of Oklahoma Consortium for Minority Business Development, Inc., Volunteer for YWCA battered women’s shelter. Co Chair of the Economic Development committee for Operation Nehemiah, and Board Member for the Capitol Chamber of Commerce.

Rep. Skye McNiel (R-Bristow)

State Representative Skye McNiel is a fifth-generation Oklahoman and life-time resident of Bristow, Oklahoma. In 2006, Rep. McNiel, the owner of a small business in Bristow, was elected to represent State House District 29 at the age of 28. She was unopposed for re-election in 2008.

Rep. McNiel serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Regulatory Services as the Vice-Chair. She is also a member of the Higher Education and Career Tech Committee, the Wildlife Committee and the Economic Development and Financial Services Committee.

She currently serves on Speaker of the House Chris Benge’s leadership team as Vice-Chair of the Republican Caucus.

Rep. McNiel continues to work at her family’s livestock auction and has been featured in the Tulsa World newspaper for her interaction with customers at the auction’s restaurant.

In addition to her service as a state representative, Rep. McNiel is past president of the Bristow Education Foundation, a former president of the Bristow Chamber of Commerce and was formerly employed as Marketing Coordinator for Community Bank in Bristow.

Rep. McNiel is a member of the Rural Caucus, Native American Caucus, is an At-large member of the Lion’s Club and is a member of the Mannford and Oilton Chambers of Commerce. She is also a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council. She attends the Presbyterian Church of Bristow.

Rep. McNiel is a graduate of Bristow Public Schools and Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Communications and Animal Science. She is married to Pecos and has two daughters, Paike Marie and Jamison.

Rep. Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City)

Sally Kern was first elected to the Oklahoma State House of Representatives on November 2, 2004. Sally and her husband, Dr. Stephen D. Kern, a Southern Baptist minister, were married in 1970 and have two grown sons, one daughter-in-law, and one grandson. Sally is a member of Olivet Baptist Church where her husband is pastor.

Prior to her election, Sally was very active in her church as a Bible teacher and member of the choir, and continues to serve there. She was teaching high school government in Oklahoma City when elected, as well as coaching girl’s golf and volleyball. Sally has taught school about 20 years.

Since Sally is an educator, her priorities in the House revolve around education. Her desire is to see the quality of education improve for all children. Her emphasis in education has been on reading. Reading is a skill students must become proficient in if they are to learn the various subject matters. Although education is a high priority because that is where her life experience is, Sally, also, has many other issues that are important to her

Since being elected, Sally has served on various committees in the House. In 2005-2006 she was the Vice Chair for the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education, member of the Common Education, Health and Human Services, and Business and Economic Development committees.

In 2007-2008 she was the Chair of the Human Services Subcommittee on Social Services, and member of the Education, Common Education, and Human Services committees.

Sally graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1971 with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in History. In 1986, she received her teacher certification in Social Studies with an emphasis in Government from East Texas State University.

Sally’s memberships include Olivet Baptist Church, the Northwest Chamber of Commerce, Heart and Hand non-profit ministry, Eagle Forum, Frontier Country Republican Women’s Club, Advisory Board for the Master of Leadership Public Administration at Mid-America Christian University, Tri-Cities Republican Women’s Club, Oklahoma City Republican Women’s Club, and the American Legislative Exchange Council. She is, also, a board member of the Advisory Council for BOTT Radio, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, member of the Office of Personnel Management’s Employee Assistance Program Advisory Council, and member of the Advisory Board for HIRE (Help in Reaching Employment) at the Moore Norman Technology Center. Sally is also a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

After her first session in office, Sally was voted “Outstanding Lawmaker of the Year 2005” by the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC) for her conservative voting record. OCPAC also voted Sally “Runner Up Lawmaker of the Year 2005.” In April of 2008, Sally was honored as the first ever recipient of the Family Research Council’s (FCR) “Champion of Faith, Family, and Freedom Award.” OCPAC has again voted Sally “Runner Up Lawmaker of the Year 2008.”

Sally enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and playing golf, and watching football.

Rep. Leslie Osborn (R-Tuttle)

Representative Leslie Osborn Graduated from OSU with a degree in Business Administration.

She has been married to her husband, Tim Osborn, for 24 years.

Together they have 2 Children, Will age 21, Katie age 19 both attending Oklahoma State University.

Leslie has owned her own business for 20 years, Osborn Pick-Up Accessories.

She and her husband farm and ranch in Tuttle.

This is Leslie’s 2^nd year in House of Representatives. She is a Deputy Majority Whip and serves on 4 committee’s—agriculture, public safety, government modernization, and the appropriations sub-committee for natural resource agencies.

Rep. Rebecca Hamilton (D-Oklahoma City)

State Representative Rebecca Hamilton is now serving her second tour of duty in Legislature, in a manner of speaking. She was first elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1980 and served until 1986 when she left politics to have her first child. She remained at home to raise a family and later resumed her political career when she was re-elected to the House in 2002.

During her tenure in the Oklahoma Legislature, Rep. Hamilton has been an advocate for human rights, believing that government must support and defend the sanctity of all human lives, regardless of age.

Rep. Hamilton has authored laws authorizing Victim’s Protective Orders to protect battered women, obtained funding for the first statewide program for adult day care and the first statewide program of domestic violence shelters, and she helped pass some of the first nursing home reforms in Oklahoma.

She has also carried legislation to prevent law enforcement officials from publicly posting the private information of rape victims, protect nursing home residents from sexual predators, require background checks for all nursing home employees, and impose significant penalties on those convicted of human trafficking.

Rep. Hamilton is one of four founding members of Oklahoma Pro-Life Democrat Legislators and authored a 2005 law hailed at the time as the most significant piece of pro-life legislation in Oklahoma in 30 years. The measure required informed consent, parental notification and created a “Laci Peterson” law allowing prosecutors to file criminal charges against anyone who intentionally causes the death of an unborn child by harming the mother.

Rep. Hamilton has also authored legislation ensuring taxpayers are not forced to subsidize elective abortions and this year she is carrying legislation to prevent women from being financially coerced into selling their eggs in a potentially dangerous extraction procedure.

Rep. Hamilton’s legislative career reflects her long-standing commitment to her community. In 1972, long before she sought elective office, she was one of six original co-founders of first rape crisis center in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma City Democrat has worked to bring a wide range of groups together to fight on the behalf of abused women, including the creation of the Annual Day of Prayer for an End to Violence Against Women at the Oklahoma Capitol.

Rep. Hamilton has been married for 25 years to her husband, Rodney, and the couple has two grown sons.

A member of St. James Catholic Church, Rep. Hamilton serves as an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister who takes communion to homebound in her parish.

She has also been a long-time volunteer at Birth Choice of Oklahoma, a non-profit organization that helps women facing crisis pregnancies deal with the challenges involved - emotional, medical and financial.

Rep. Hamilton, a writer, is the editor of Economy Publishing Company.

She is a lifelong resident of south Oklahoma City, and previously served on the board of regents of Oklahoma City Community College.

Sen. Constance Johnson

Senator Connie Johnson won a special election in 2005, and was re-elected in 2006, after 24 years as a Senate analyst/drafter on subjects ranging from birth to death.

Her focus on children and families is a reflection of the needs of her district as a significant number of the children in her district are being reared by their grandparents, mostly due to their parents’ incarceration for nonviolent, addiction or mental health related offenses. Oklahoma’s status as #1 in women’s and 4^th in overall incarceration has inspired her work on restorative justice issues ranging from clarifying the governor’s role in the parole process to sentencing reform and support for the children of incarcerated parents with an emphasis on child support arrearages. She successfully repealed occupational licensure restrictions for addiction or mental illness convictions.

Sen. Johnson serves on the General Government/Public Safety Appropriations Subcommittee, and the Health and Human Resources, General Government, Transportation, and Veterans standing committees. She is the National Black Caucus of State Legislatures executive board recording secretary, and former National Conference of State Legislatures executive board member. This legislative session, she is in her 30^th Legislature.

Born to educators in Holdenville, Oklahoma, she is the mother of three and has one grandchild. An honors graduate of Frederick A. Douglass Sr. High in Oklahoma City, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and will be a May, 2010 Langston University Master’s graduate in Rehabilitation Counseling.

Sen. Debbe Leftwich (D-Oklahoma City)

Debbe Leftwich, State Senator from District 44 in South Oklahoma City, was elected in a special election December 9, 2003 to fill the vacancy left by her husband, Senator Keith Leftwich who died of cancer in September that year. She was re-elected in 2006.

She authored the Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment bill, the Quality Investment Act, the Graduated Driver’s License Program and major Nursing Home Reforms, along with bills that increased fines and punishments for crimes of Domestic Violence, increased statute of limitations for sex crimes against children, expanded the Victims Impact Panel’s DUI programs, enhanced penalties for negligent homicide and created Oklahoma’s Elevator Safety Act. She’s pushed freezing property taxes for seniors and tax cuts for retirees and veterans. She’s supported raising teacher’s pay to the regional average, additional funding and accountability to our schools as well as performance audits for state government.

Debbe serves on Business & Labor, Transportation, Retirement & Insurance and General Appropriations committees. In addition to the legislative committees she serves on, Debbe has been appointed to various boards, committees and commissions.

She currently serves as:

• Chair of the Oklahoma Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Advisory Committee
• Co-Chair of Oklahoma Women’s Legislative Caucus
• Co-Chair of Oklahoma’s Cancer Caucus
• Member of Oklahoma Women’s Coalition
• Member of YMCA Youth & Government Advisory Board

Debbe also served on the Attorney General’s Task Force to improve End-of-Life Care as well as a Governor’s appointee to the Oklahoma Health Information Security & Privacy Collaboration Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Commission on the Status of Women (and past Chair), Youth Services SKIL Board, the American Legion Auxiliary, South OKC Rotary and the South OKC Chamber of Commerce.

Her efforts have earned Leftwich special recognition from the Oklahoma Nurses Association, Oklahoma Unified Chiropractic Association, AARP, Oklahoma Association of Marriage and Family, Oklahoma Safe Kids Coalition, AARP and Oklahoma Aging Partnership. She also has received an Action Award from the American Cancer Society and in 2008 was inducted into the Oklahoma Institute of Child Advocacy’s Hall of Fame. In 2009, she was honored by Oklahoma State Home Builders Association with their “Champions of the Industry” Award and was selected as one of the Oklahoma Journal Record’s “50 Making a Difference”.

Debbe has worked in both the private and public sectors. She has held management, supervisory and administrative positions for Globe Life, Aetna, Kerr McGee and the OSU Extension Center. She was Division Administrator and then later Director of Administration and Personnel for the Chief Medical Examiner’s office. She’s had training and experience in Strategic Planning, Government Purchasing and Administrative Law. Debbe has conducted training sessions in Strategic Planning, Grassroots Campaigning and Group Advocacy. She served as a member of the Office of Personnel Management’s Advisory Council and the Employee Benefit Coordinator’s Association.

Debbe is also a past president of her hometown Alumni Association, a past PTA Vice-Chair, former Sunday school teacher and assistant little league coach. She is a member of Southern Hills United Methodist Church. She was born in Chandler, grew up in Wellston, Oklahoma, and graduated from Wellston High School, and attended Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of Central Oklahoma. Debbe has two sons, Kevin and Kurt.