The Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women.

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.

Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre

Judy Eason McIntyre is a native Oklahoman from Tulsa. She attended and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa. She received the Bachelor’s and Master of Science Degree in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma.

She served in the Department of Human Services, Child Welfare for 31 years.

Judy Eason McIntyre was elected to the House of Representatives, 49^th Legislature, District 73 in 2002. In her position as Representative, she has served on the Common Education Committee, the Higher Education Committee, the Human Services Committee, and the Public Health Committee. In 2002, she was one of sixteen black women from twelve states selected as a Fellow for the NOBEL/Women (National Organization of Black Elected Legislators/Women) for the NOBEL/Women CAWP (Center for American Women and Politics/Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University) Leadership Institute. Senator Judy Eason McIntyre was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 2004. She was named Committee Chair of the Retirement and Group Health Committee and Vice-Chair of Health & Human Resources Committee for 2004-2006. She was named Committee Co-Chair of the Education Committee for 2007-2008.

She holds memberships in the following organizations: Member, Vernon AME Church, 1921 Race Riot Design Committee; the Greenwood Re-Development Authority; Tulsa School Board (served 16 years and was former President, Tulsa School Board for two years) the NAACP; CWA (Communication Workers of America) Local #6086, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Senator Eason McIntyre was Honorary Chair for the Tulsa Komen Race for the Cure in 2007.

Sen. Mary Easley

Senator Mary Easley is married to Truman Easley and they have three children and seven grandchildren. The Easley’s have been members of the Southern Baptist faith for more than 30 years, where Truman has served as a deacon. Currently they are members of the First Baptist Church in Tulsa.

The Senator graduated with a B.A. in Language Arts and Business from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas and with a M.A. from Northeastern Oklahoma State University in Tahlequah. She is a retired public school teacher and was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1996 and served as Chairman of the Banking and Finance Committee. After eight years serving as State Representative she was elected to the State Senate in April 2004 where she serves as Chairman of the Sunset Review Committee and Vice Chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee. Easley is also a member of the powerful Appropriations Subcommittee for Education as well as a member of the full Appropriations Committee which is responsible for writing the bills that fund each state agency.

During Senator Easley’s time in the Senate, she has been a powerful voice for teachers, rural fire fighters, senior citizens, farmers and ranchers, veterans, small business and middle class and working families. She was honored by the Oklahoma Aging Partnership and AARP Oklahoma for supporting legislation important to Oklahoma’s greatest generation, including the Oklahoma Identity Theft Act which allows senior citizens and victims of identity theft to freeze their credit free of charge. She has received accolades from Oklahomans for Life for co-authoring the most significant pro-life legislation in the history of the state. Easley also won the approval of the Oklahoma and National Rifle Association receiving an A rating for her support of Second Amendment rights.

Easley supported the $3000 pay increase for every Oklahoma teacher, making certain that our classrooms will continue to be guided by the brightest teachers in the nation. She supported the legislation that made certain that middle class and working families weren’t left out of the historic tax cut package that passed the legislature two years in a row. Recently out-of-state-extremist groups have used funerals of fallen soldiers as a platform for hate speech and intolerance. Senator Easley’s faith in God and moral values told her this extremist group’s right to protest should never be more important than a family’s right to mourn the loss of their child in peace. She refused to sit idly by while our brave soldiers and their families were used to further the agenda of such hateful groups and her legislation known simply as the Funeral Picketing Protection Act, was the first piece of legislation passed and signed into law by Governor Brad Henry this past legislative session. She voted in favor of a measure that allows more small business owners the opportunity to offer health insurance coverage to their employees—helping make health insurance more affordable for those who might otherwise go without. Easley supported a state budget that made record investments in our roads and bridges and public safety initiatives, including hiring additional workers to investigate cases of child abuse and record funding for rural fire departments to help keep our communities, churches and businesses and homes safe from wildfires. She also supported important public safety legislation, such as Caitlin’s Law, that will help keep criminals behind bars and legislation that keeps child molesters away from our children permanently.

Rep. Ann Coody (R-Lawton)

A retired educator of thirty-nine years, Ann Coody won election to the Oklahoma House of Representatives from District 64, Lawton, in 2004. She is chair of the Common Education Committee and a member of the Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee and the Veterans & Military Affairs Committee. She was appointed by the Speaker of the House as a commissioner to the Education Commission of the States (ECS), as a member of the Education Oversight Board, as a member of the Achieving Classroom Excellence (ACE) Steering Committee, and as a member of the Oklahoma State Council for Educational Opportunity for Military Children. She served as majority caucus secretary in 2007-2008.

Representative Coody received a bachelor’s degree in speech and drama from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, and a master’s degree in education from the University of Oklahoma. She served as a teacher, counselor, and assistant principal for the Lawton Public Schools and retired as principal of Lawton MacArthur High School in 2000.

Representative Coody is an active member of Central Baptist Church of Lawton, the Comanche County Retired Educators, and the Oklahoma Retired Educators Association. She is married to Dale Coody, an evangelistic singer and rancher. Their family includes Nina, a high school assistant principal; Jeff, an insurance agent and former U.S. Navy pilot, and his wife, Julie; granddaughters, Addie and Olivia; and grandson, Payne. To contact Coody write 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 439, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, or [email protected], or call (405) 557-7398.

Rep. Lee Denney (R-Cushing)

Lee Denney is a native of Payne County having been raised in Cushing, Oklahoma. Lee graduated from Cushing High School and received her Agricultural Economics degree from Oklahoma State University. She then went on to receive her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Oklahoma State University.

Lee is married to Frank Denney. They have been married for 31 years. Her family includes Will, age 25 and Kate, age 23. She is Co-owner of Veterinary Medical Associates, Inc. in Cushing, Oklahoma and has been since 1979.

Lee Denney’s activities in the area are and have included: Mayor/Vice Mayor of Cushing, Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association, Treasurer of the Cushing Arts & Humanities Council, Payne County Youth Services Board of Directors, Oklahoma Academy, Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, Oklahoma Community Institute, Lions Club, PEO, and Daughters of the American Revolution.

Lee received the New Legislator of the Year 2006 Honor along with the 50 Women Making a Difference and the Leadership Oklahoma Class VII.

Lee Denney is currently serving as the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education. She also serves on the Appropriations & Budget Committee, Higher Education and Career Tech Committee, and Public Health Committee.

Lee developed an interest in government when she served as a campaign manager for a colleague. As soon as her children graduated from high school she decided she wanted to become a public servant not only for her community but for her district. She now is the State Representative of House District 33.

NAME: Kevine Bajeneza

COUNTRY: Rwanda

BUSINESS: Farming (maize cultivation)

Kevine, 32 years old, started a farming business that focuses on the cultivation of maize and distributing it to local farmers.

Kevine has faced challenges in her business, due to plant diseases and irregular season, which results in expected production. Her goals include expanding her farming project to include more crops, to open a store that sells her crops and start distributing more the local level and eventually internationally. Kevine wants her farm to provide job opportunities to her fellow Rwandans.

Kevine hopes her PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS training will help her in marketing strategies, accounting and finance skills and how to seek business partnerships.