An Ada, Oklahoma native and former Miss Chickasaw I am the Vice President of Y.N.Y. Enterprises, DBA Subway. My husband Timothy and I currently have four Subway restaurants 2 in South Oklahoma City and 2 in Purcell.
Every year I host a toy drive for the foster children of McClain County. Involved in the development of a summer reading program for teens with the Pioneer Library System where Subway was a sponsor. Provide scholarships for graduating seniors of Lexington High School and for the Oklahoma Children’s Baptist Home.
Last summer had the privilege of participating in a Health Fair at the LCDA where I put together a slide show of nutrition and healthy snacks for low income families and did instruction of exercises that were safe for children to do while home alone.
We have four children three boys and one girl. Active member of Women of the South, a board member of Club services for the South OKC Rotary, a member of South OKC Chamber of Commerce, and the Tri-City Gun Club.
I am very passionate about working with young women promoting education to combat teen pregnancy. In my spare time I enjoy reading, riding motorcycles, and fishing with my family.
Debra Murray is the President and Managing Member of Blue Spring International, LLC. Ms. Murray has over 25 years of sales, consulting, and management experience in real estate, retail, and health and wellness. Ms. Murray’s primary focus in recent years has been in the restructuring of privately-owned companies after severe market impacts.
As an active member of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), Women’s Business Enterprises (WBE) Southwest, and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Ms. Murray works to further opportunities in the world of business for women. Because of her passion for empowering women, she has received numerous awards and public speaking invitations, both in the US and abroad. Ms. Murray is also dedicated to educating consumers on natural health and wellness.
To further her goals, she has been or currently is a member in good standing of several prominent trade organizations in the health and wellness industry. Ms. Murray is determined to take Blue Spring to the forefront of natural health and wellness. Her passion and dedication shine in everything she does, both personally and professionally. She uses her vision and leadership to motivate her team to take Blue Spring to The Platinum Standard
Paterson was born on June 28, 1955, in New York City. She received a bachelor;s degree in communication from Oral Roberts University in 1977. She has been employed as a television spokesperson as well as an associate television producer.
She served as a Tulsa County Republican chairman, as the Republican Party’s First Congressional District vice chairman, and as a national delegate to the Republican Convention.
Peterson won the election to the Oklahoma House of Representatives from District 67 in January 2004. She was appointed commissioner for the Oklahoma Commissions on the Status of Women , and serves as the chair of the Task Force to Stop Sexual Violence (2006). She continues active participation in ALEC, Alliance to the Tulsa Medical Society, and MEND Pregnancy Resource Center.
Peterson and her husband, Paul, have two grown children. Peterson’s hobbies include tennis.
Anastasia was born in Miami, Florida. She has resided in Oklahoma for over 30 years. Her parents are Maye B. Pittman and C. Anthony Pittman. She is the granddaughter of the late Jazz Hall of Famer C.E. Pittman, Juanita Pittman, Mary Lee Thurman-Taylor, and Seminole Freedman Rayfield (Tom) Barkus. Anastasia has one daughter and one foster son.
She has a B.A. in Journalism/Public Relations from the University of Oklahoma. She also has a M.Ed. in Urban Education & Behavioral Science from Langston University.
She is an educator, works in the communications field & Case Management.
She is a board member of the YWCA, Metropolitan Better Living Center, Aids Walk of Oklahoma, former board member of BLAC, Inc. and the Association of Concerned Citizens for HIV Awareness. She is a former mentor/tutor of the National Weed and Seed Program and the Oklahoma Public School System, U.S. Department of Justice Western District, and the PTA President of K.I.P.P. College Preparatory School. She is also the founder of the Magic Star Foundation, Inc.
ORGANIZATIONS: Northeast Church of Christ
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc.
Urban League Young Professionals
Life Member of NAACP
A. Philip Randolph Institute
Metro Federation Democratic Women’s Club
Eastside Capitol Gateway
State & Community Organizations Promoting Education (S.C.O.P.E.)
HONORS: Outstanding Community Service Recognition for Magic Star Foundation, Inc., former president William Jefferson Clinton
Cooperative Extension-Outreach Service and Leadership Award,
Langston University
Unity in the Community State Award, Oklahoma Federal Executive Board
Lecia D. Swain/Theodis Payne Media Award, OKC Branch NAACP
Outstanding Black Woman’s Award, Girl Scout Honor Troop 18
Media Advocacy Award, Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence
and Sexual Assault
Oklahoma Achiever’s Award, Metropolitan Better Living Center
LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: House of Representatives, 51st Legislature
Susan Paddack received a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Colorado and a Master of Education Degree in Secondary Education from East Central University. She earned a Certificate of Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Susan was elected in November 2004 as the State Senator for District 13, which includes Pontotoc, Hughes, portions of Garvin and Coal Counties. She serves as a Democratic Whip and Co-Chair of the Judiciary Committee. In addition, she serves on the full Appropriations Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, the Education Committee, and the Tourism and Wildlife Committee. She represents Oklahoma as a board member on the Southern Regional Education Board, a member of the Annual Meeting Committee for the Council of State Governments, a board member of the Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust, a board member on the Healthcare Workforce Resources Center Board, and serves on the Governor’s Elimination of Health Disparities Task Force, the Task Force on Achieving Classroom Excellence, the State Coverage Initiative to reform healthcare in Oklahoma, and the Governor’s Catastrophic Health Emergency Planning Task Force.
With a passion to promote both education and healthcare in Oklahoma, Senator Paddack has successfully authored numerous pieces of landmark legislation in these areas, resulting in multiple honors for her efforts. Susan was the principal author of the 2005 legislation, Rx Oklahoma, which expands the Prescription Assistance Program to make it available statewide. That same year, she also authored legislation creating a physician assistant scholarship program aimed at helping ensure rural communities have greater access to medical care. She was also instrumental in passing legislation to create the Health Care Workforce Resource Center to help identify shortages in nursing and allied health as well as developing strategies to address those gaps. In addition, she authored laws to ensure that schools provide information about meningococcal meningitis to parents of students in the sixth through twelfth grades and to require vision screenings for elementary students. She also authored a bill which gives lawsuit protection to healthcare providers who provide charitable medical services to medically indigent persons in a free medical clinic setting.
Susan’s honors for her legislation include being named the 2005 Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians Patient Advocate of the Year as well as 2006 Legislator of the Year for the Rural Health Association of Oklahoma. She was also named the Legislative Newcomer award recipient in 2005 by the Higher Education Alumni Council of Oklahoma. In 2006, Susan was awarded the Oklahoma Nurses Association Friend of Nursing award and the Legislative award from the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. In 2007, she was awarded the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Alumni Association “Amicus Medicinae Award, and the Higher Education Alumni Council of Oklahoma Friend of Higher Education Award. Also in 2007, she received the Metropolitan Environmental Trust Legislator of the Year and the Oklahoma Professional Economic Development Council Legislative Advocate of the Year. In 2008, she received the Oklahoma Academy Exceptional Commitment Award and was inducted into the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy’s Child Advocate Hall of Fame. The Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians awarded her the 2008 Legislator of the Year. She also received the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education, 2008 Legislator of the Year from the Oklahoma State Troopers Association-District 13, 2008 Honoree for the Journal Record’s 50 Making a Difference/Woman of the Year. In 2009 she received the Outstanding Member of a State Legislature, Dr. Nathan Davis Award, from the American Medical Association and the Partners in Conservation Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior. She also received the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association’s Legislative Award of Appreciation and the Friend of Retired Educators from the Oklahoma Retired Educators Association.
Prior to her election to the Senate, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence employed Susan for nine years as their Director of Local Education Foundation Outreach. She traveled the state working with LEF boards and tailored presentations and workshops based on each foundation’s specific need. During this tenure, the number of local education foundations grew by 31% and over $22 million was awarded to schools by their LEFs since their formation in the early 1980s. She also consulted with LEFs in states such as Missouri, Indiana, and Arkansas. She was employed as a secondary science teacher in middle and junior high schools in Texas, Colorado, and Oklahoma. She also served as an adjunct faculty member for East Central University’s Education Department.
Susan serves in various capacities in local, state, and national volunteer organizations. She served as the 2000-2001 president of the American Medical Association Alliance, and traveled to 32 states as a part of their Speakers’ Bureau. Susan served as a representative from the AMAA to the Commission for the Prevention of Youth Violence, which was a call to action from medicine, nursing, and public health to address the epidemic of youth violence in the nation. On the state level, she is a board member for the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum, a board member for the Oklahoma Academy, a board member for the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence where she was presented with an Honorary Circle of Excellence in 2003, and a board member of the Oklahoma Arts Institute. Susan was a member of the Leadership Oklahoma Class XVI. She was named among the 2004 and 2008 honorees for The Journal Record’s 50 Women Making a Difference. She also was a board member of the Oklahoma Institute of Child Advocacy, having served as Vice-president of Development and Vice-president of Trustees, was a board member of the Center for Nonprofit Management and was on the advisory board of governors for the Communities Foundation of Oklahoma. Susan served as the 1991-92 president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association Alliance.
On the local level, Susan served on the board of the Ada City Schools Foundation where she was previously president, vice-president, and was grant review chair for ten years. She has also served as: president for the Pontotoc County Medical Alliance, board member for the City of Ada’s Board of Adjustments, board member of the Kiwanis Club of Ada and chairman of Young Children – Priority One, parent representative on the Ada City Schools Professional Staff Development Committee, vice-president for the Ada Arts and Humanities Council, the 1992 United Way fund drive chair and board president in 1993, a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Task Force and steering committee on Economic Development, and a member of the 1991 Leadership Ada class. She was named the Ada Education Association’s 1992 Friend of Education. Susan is an elder of First Presbyterian Church of Ada. She is married to Gary, an internal medicine physician.
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.
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 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.
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.
Our 2010 Rwandan In-Country Students will graduate this Saturday, March 27, 2010! We are so proud of these women and all they have accomplished. They have worked the past eight weeks creating business plans and learning how to improve their businesses and their communities. They are a true testament to how lives can be changed [...]
Farzana Ibrahimi has created a new brochure for her business in Afghanistan, Kandahar Health & Development Organization. Way to go, Farzana! Click here to download Page 1 of brochure Click here to download Page 2 of brochure
