Christine Toretti | |
|---|---|
 Toretti in 2014 | |
| Republican National Committeewoman from Pennsylvania | |
| Assumed office August 21, 1997 ServingwithAndy Reilly | |
| Preceded by | Anne Anstine |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Christine Jack Toretti is an American politician, businesswoman, philanthropist, 2016 U.S. presidential elector, and Pennsylvania's Republican National Committeewoman.
Toretti is the chair and CEO of S.W. Jack Drilling Co., a privately held land-based drilling company in the United States. [1] As of 2005, it is the nineteenth largest contract drilling company in terms of total footage drilled. [2] The company, founded in 1918 by Toretti's grandfather, is headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania and has regional offices in Buckhannon and Charleston, West Virginia. [3] [4] The S.W. Jack Company supports oil and gas exploration in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and New York. [4]
Toretti assumed control of the company in 1990, upon the unexpected death of her father, Samuel W. Jack Jr. [5] [6] Prior to that, she served as CFO. [6] She is noted as a rare female CEO in the male-dominated energy industry. [7] The company had 92 employees and $5 million in annual revenue in 1990. [3]
In 1995, Toretti expanded the company significantly when she led the purchase and merger with another drilling company. She relinquished day-to-day operations in 1997. [3] The company currently has 350 employees and $60 million in annual revenue. [3]
From 2004 to 2010, S.W. Jack Drilling donated more than $150,000 to then Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett. [8]
Toretti founded the Anne Anstine Excellence in Public Service Series, a training program specifically designed to educate, empower, and advance Republican women. [9]
Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge appointed Toretti to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education in 1995, where she helped reorganize the organization's investments in higher education. [9] [10] Former Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker appointed her to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. President George W. Bush appointed her to the Rural Telephone Bank, the National Petroleum Council and to the advisory board for the U.S. Secretary of Energy [9]
On August 21, 1997, Toretti was elected to serve as the Republican National Committeewomen for Pennsylvania. [10] She served on the RNC Committee on Arrangements for the 2000 Republican National Convention. She was involved in George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign, one of the first Pennsylvania Republicans to endorse the then-Texas Governor. [11] In 2001, she was named to the PoliticsPA list of "Pennsylvania's Most Politically Powerful Women" [12]
In 2002, she was named to the PoliticsPA "Power 50" list of politically influential personalities. [13] In 2003, the Pennsylvania Report named her to "The Pennsylvania Report Power 75" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics. [14] In 2010, Politics Magazine named her one of the most influential Pennsylvania Republicans. [15]
In 2006, Toretti chaired Lynn Swann's 2006 Pennsylvania gubernatorial campaign. [1]
On May 18, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Toretti to become the U.S. Ambassador to Malta. [16] However, the U.S. Senate never confirmed Toretti, and returned her nomination in 2019 [17] and 2020. [18]
Toretti met University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson at an NCAA dinner. [19] They married in Las Vegas on April 14, 2003. [20] During their marriage, she and her three sons, split time between her home on a 200-acre (0.81 km2) farm in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Tucson, Arizona. [19] Olson filed for divorce on December 6, 2007 [20] The proceedings became contentious, with Toretti alleging that Olson improperly moved funds from a joint account the day after filing for divorce. [21]
Toretti serves on several corporate boards, including S&T Bank and the Lockhart Company. [10] Toretti is an ex-officio advisor to the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce. [22] She previously served as the Foundation for the Indiana University of Pennsylvania President, and as a boardmember of The Andy Warhol Museum Advisory Board, Indiana Hospital Board, Chi Omega Foundation, and The Committee of 200. [10]
Indiana County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the west central part of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,246. Its county seat is Indiana. Indiana County comprises the Indiana, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-WV-OH Combined Statistical Area. The county is part of the Southwest Pennsylvania region of the state.
Edward Gene Rendell is an American politician, author, and former prosecutor who served as the 45th governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He previously served as chair of the national Democratic Party from 1999 to 2001, as mayor of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2000, and as district attorney of Philadelphia from 1978 to 1986.
Melissa Ann Hart is an American lawyer and politician. She was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007, representing western Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district. In the 2006 midterm elections, Hart lost her bid for re-election to Democrat Jason Altmire. She challenged Altmire again in the 2008 election, but was defeated again.
Robert Luther "Lute" Olson was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats men's team for 25 years. He was also head coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes for nine years and Long Beach State 49ers for one season. Known for player development and great recruiting, many of his former players have gone on to have impressive careers in the NBA. On October 23, 2008, Olson announced his retirement from coaching. Olson died on August 27, 2020, in Tucson, Arizona. He was 85 years old.
Lisa Frank is an American artist and businesswoman, the founder of Lisa Frank Incorporated, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. She is known for producing whimsical commercial design for school supplies and other products that are primarily marketed to children and young adolescents. Her designs were popular in the 1980s and 1990s and experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 2010s and 2020s.
H. William DeWeese is an American politician who is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, DeWeese served as the 135th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House from 1993 to 1994. After five years of investigation by Republican State Attorney General Tom Corbett, he was indicted in December 2009 on six charges of conflict of interest, theft and criminal conspiracy on accusations that two members of his staff used state resources to campaign for political office. The trial began January 23, 2010. He was re-elected in 2010 despite the charges, but was convicted of five of the six felony charges on February 6, 2012.
Catherine Baker Knoll was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. She was the 30th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, serving under Governor Ed Rendell from 2003 to 2008, when she died in office. Prior to that, she served as the 72nd Pennsylvania treasurer from 1989 to 1997. She was the first woman to be lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Republican Party (PAGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg. Its chair is Lawrence Tabas and is the second largest political party in the state behind the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
Jack E. Wagner is an American Democratic politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He served as Pennsylvania Auditor General, and previously served in the State Senate and Pittsburgh City Council.
Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. is an American politician, lobbyist, and former prosecutor who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was also attorney general of Pennsylvania.
Melissa Murphy Weber is an American attorney and Pennsylvania politician.
Dave L. Reed is a Republican former member, and former Majority Leader, of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He represented the 62nd District, made up of parts of Indiana County. In November 2014, Reed was elected House Majority Leader and assumed those duties on December 1. He was sworn into his seventh term on January 6, 2015.
The Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. They compete in the Big 12 of NCAA Division I and is coached by Tommy Lloyd. Arizona previously spent the past 50 seasons in the Pac-10/12.
Sara G. Steelman of Indiana, Pennsylvania, American biologist and politician, served seven terms as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1991 until 2002. Steelman is married to John Henry Steelman, a mathematics professor at Indiana University. She is a 1963 graduate of Southeast High School in Wichita, Kansas. She graduated with a degree in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1967 and earned a Ph.D. in behavioural genetics from Stanford University in 1976. She moved to Indiana in 1986 when her husband joined the faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Jesse J. White is a former attorney and former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 46th District since 2007. His district included portions of Washington, Allegheny and Beaver Counties.
Elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives were held on November 5, 2002, with all districts being contested. State Representatives are elected for two-year terms, with the entire House of Representatives up for a vote every two years. The term of office for those elected in 2002 ran from January 7, 2003 until November 30, 2004. Necessary primary elections were held on May 21, 2002.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania was part of the 2008 United States presidential election, which took place on November 4, 2008, throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose 21 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Pennsylvania held statewide municipal elections on November 3, 2009, to fill a number of judicial positions and to allow judicial retention votes. The necessary primary elections were held on May 19, 2009.
Colleen M. Kopp is a lobbyist with Wojdak Government Relations and a former legislative staffer in Pennsylvania. Prior to that she was an aide for House Minority Whip Mike Veon and for Governor Ed Rendell. She is a former Secretary of Legislative Affairs.
Christine L. Donohue is a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Prior to her election to that court in 2015, she was an elected member of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, a seat she had held since 2008. She had also performed nearly three decades of service as a trial lawyer and litigator in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.