Mary Fallin is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party,she was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She is the first and so far only woman to be elected governor of Oklahoma. She was the first woman to represent Oklahoma in Congress since Alice Mary Robertson in 1920.
Mary L. Easley is the Oklahoma Senator representing District 18,which includes Mayes,Tulsa and Wagoner counties,since she won a special election in 2004. She previously served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1996 through 2004,representing District 78.
Jari Askins is an American judge,lawyer and Democratic politician from the US state of Oklahoma. She was the 15th lieutenant governor of Oklahoma,being the second woman and the first female Democratic Party member to hold that position.
Judy Eason McIntyre is an American politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A Democrat,McIntyre served as an Oklahoma state Senator from 2004 to 2012 representing District 11,which includes Osage and Tulsa counties. She also served as State Representative from 2002 to 2004 representing District 73 where she was the first freshman appointed to the Speaker's Leadership Team. For the 16 years before her election to the Oklahoma Legislature,she was an elected board member for the Tulsa Public Schools in Tulsa,Oklahoma.
Nancy C. Riley represented Oklahoma State Senate District 37 which is located in Tulsa County and includes Bixby,Jenks,Lotsee,Tulsa and Sand Springs from 2000 to 2008. Riley grew up in Tulsa and graduated from Edison High School. She attended Oklahoma Christian College for three years,then married and started a family. Riley's first husband died from a brain tumor. During that time,Riley was forced to live on food stamps. She later graduated from Langston University,and began teaching elementary school in the Tulsa Public Schools system.
James Clark "Jim" Nance was a leader for 40 years in the Oklahoma Legislature in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and was community newspaper chain publisher 66 years. Nance served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate. During his legislative career,Nance wrote the "Honest Mistake" law which became a model for other states. Nance then became a key sponsor and Legislative Chairman of the U.S. Uniform Law Commission (ULC),sponsored by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws,a non-partisan advisory panel which drafted uniform acts and uniform state commerce laws. Nance became known as a legislative expert in a 40-year legislative career as one of two Oklahomans to hold the top posts in both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature. The state's largest newspaper,The Daily Oklahoman wrote he was the "longest serving Oklahoma Legislator" and "A Legislator's Legislator." Nance,a Democrat,is the only Oklahoma House Speaker elected through a bipartisan coalition of Democrats and Republicans. Fiercely Independent,Nance considered public policy work to be a service and did not ever accept a salary or pension for any of his 40 years in the legislature and 24 years on the Uniform Law Commission. Nance refused to work as a lobbyist,although he had many offers after leaving office.
Betty Carman Boyd was a longtime Tulsa television personality and a member of the Oklahoma State House of Representatives. Considered a pioneer for women in both fields,Boyd began her career in television in 1955 and was elected as a state legislator in 1990,serving until 2000.
Joe Anna Hibler is an American educator. Much of her career was spent teaching business at the university level. Retired from active teaching,she is the former president of Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU),an inductee into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame,and currently a regent of the Regional University System of Oklahoma.
Angela Z. Monson is an American politician from Oklahoma who served in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives,representing District 99 from 1990–1993,as well as the Oklahoma Senate,representing District 48 from 1993–2005. In 2003,she became the first African American woman assistant majority floor leader in the Oklahoma legislature. Monson defeated incumbent Kirk Humphreys,a former Oklahoma City mayor,for the school board chairman's position in 2009,serving until 2013.
Penny Baldwin Williams was an American Democratic Party politician from Oklahoma. Williams served as a legislator in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1981 to 1988,representing District 70. She later was elected to the Oklahoma Senate,representing District 33,from 1989 to 2004. Senator Williams authored important bills on education during her time in the legislature,including the historic education reform act. Williams also authored a series of bills to strengthen math and science,and the bill creating the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. A supporter of the arts,Williams influenced art education in public schools,and was instrumental in the creation of the Art in Public Places Act.
Helen Arnold is an American former politician. A Republican,Arnold served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1976-1982,representing district 71. She served on several committees during her time in office including,the Education committee,Public Safety and Penal Affairs committee,and the City/County Government committee. In 1978,Arnold co-sponsored the House's ERA resolution.
Nancy G. Feldman was a civil rights activist and longtime educator from the U.S. state of Illinois. Feldman taught at the University of Tulsa for thirty-seven years and lectured across the United States and internationally. Feldman was inducted to the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 1995. Her advocating for the expansion of art education in Tulsa public schools remains one of her biggest legacies. Feldman and her husband traveled to some of the most remote locations in the world during their retirement and worked to connect Tulsa with the world through the Tulsa Global Alliance.
Carolyn Thompson Taylor is an American academic and politician who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1984 to 1992. Before running for office,Taylor taught AP government at Norman High School from 1979 to 1984. While in the House,she was chair of the Education Committee and Appropriations Sub-Committee on Education. She was a principal author of numerous landmark education bills involving both Higher Education and Public Schools. She also authored legislation concerning health care for children and family leave. While in office she was an adjunct professor at Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of Oklahoma. After leaving office,Taylor was vice president of academic affairs at the University Center of Tulsa and later a distinguished professor of political science at Rogers State.
Joan Hastings, was a politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1975,Hastings served district 67 until 1984. After serving in the legislature,Hastings served for 16 years as Tulsa County Clerk,retiring in 2001. After retiring from public office,Hastings worked in real estate in the Tulsa area. She is an inductee of the Tulsa Central Hall of Fame.
Georgia Lynn Canady is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Tulsa,Oklahoma,who was crowned Miss Oklahoma's Outstanding Teen 2009 and Miss Oklahoma 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015 and placed in the Top 10.
Marcia Mitchell is the founder of Little Light House,a faith-based mission to assist children with a wide range of developmental disabilities including autism,Down syndrome,cerebral palsy. The program is not only a facility for students,but also serves as a training ground for professionals and volunteers throughout the United States and other countries who are learning to reach out to special needs children in their communities. Mitchell continues to serve as CEO of the Little Light House and published a book on her journey,Milestones and Miracles. Mitchell was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 2011.
Linda Morrissey is a Tulsa County district judge. During her time as a judge,Morrissey has influenced the addition of the first courtroom in Tulsa County that dealt strictly with child support,as well as the Families in Transition Plan that removes disputing families from the courtroom and gives them an audience with mediators. In 2003,Morrissey was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame for her contributions to the Tulsa County judicial system.
Pat Woodrum is the former executive director of the Tulsa City-County Library System,a position she served in for 32 years. Since retiring from the library system in 2008,Woodrum has served as the executive director of the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden in Tulsa. Among numerous awards,Woodrum was inducted in the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.
Joy Lynn Hofmeister is an American educator and politician who served as the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2015 to 2023. Hofmeister was sworn in as Oklahoma's 14th State Superintendent on January 12,2015,after defeating the incumbent Republican candidate,Janet Barresi,in the primary election and Democratic candidate John Cox in the general election. Hofmeister was re-elected on November 6,2018,and sworn in for a second four-year term as State Superintendent on January 14,2019. Hofmeister won re-election after facing Democrat John Cox a second time,as well as independent candidate Larry Huff.
Marie C. Cox (1920-2005) was a Comanche activist who worked on legislation for Native American children. She received many accolades for her efforts including the 1974 Indian Leadership Award from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and state recognition that same year as the Outstanding Citizen of Oklahoma from Governor David Hall. She was named as an Outstanding Indian Woman of 1977 by the North American Indian Women's Association,and served on the National Advisory Council on Indian Education from 1983 to 1990. In 1993,she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame for her work with foster children and the founding of the North American Indian Women's Association.
