AMBASSADORS:
Douglas Burns, co-owner, Carroll Daily Times-Herald
Dianne Bystrom, former director, Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics
Bonnie Campbell, Iowa’s first female attorney general
Lee Clancey, former mayor of Cedar Rapids
Roxanne Conlin, attorney, Roxanne Conlin & Associates, P.C.
Art Cullen, editor and Pulitzer Prize recipient, Storm Lake Times
Peter Damiano, director, Public Policy Center and Bernstein Professor, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa
Trudy Holman Hurd, community volunteer
Joseph Jones, executive director, The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement, Drake University
Mary Kramer, former Iowa Senate president and U.S. ambassador
Tim Lane, great-great nephew of Carrie Chapman Catt
Jean Lloyd-Jones, 50-50 in 2020 co-founder
Linda Neuman, former Iowa Supreme Court justice
Diane Ramsey, co-founder and former CEO, Iowa Women Lead Change
Mary Riche, family counselor
Ivadelle Stevenson, great-great niece of Carrie Chapman Catt
Margaret “Maggie” Tinsman, former state senator
Dr. Deborah Ann Turner, MD, JD, gynecologic oncologist and board member, National League of Women Voters
Connie Wimer, owner/chairman, Business Publications Corp.
AMBASSADOR SPOTLIGHT
DR. DEBORAH ANN TURNER, MD, JD
It would be hard to imagine a more fitting ambassador for the 19th Amendment Centennial Commemoration than Dr. Deborah Ann Turner, MD, JD. A native of Mason City, she currently serves on the board of the National League of Women Voters (LWV). Currently she chairs the LWV’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
Dr. Turner is the fifth known Iowan to serve on the national board, after leading the Des Moines chapter as president, and the state of Iowa League as vice president and ultimately co-president from 2011 to 2016. Other Iowans to serve on the LWV board include Mrs. J.C. Schramm of Burlington in 1942, Lois Leach of Davenport in 1951, Nan Waterman of Muscatine in the 1970s and Pat Jensen of Iowa City in the 1980s.
She credits her listening and collaboration skills for opening doors to leadership 9positions. “I want to help build on the past while making changes in the future,” she says. “Disenfranchisement of poor and minority groups and voter suppression are the greatest challenges going forward.”
Some of her many other accomplishments include:
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The first African-American woman to be certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in gynecological oncology; more than 30 years in medicine
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The Outreach Program medical team trips to Tanzania, performing surgeries to improve the lives of women suffering from medical complications of child birth, and helping to feed children
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Law degree from Drake University
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President pro tempore, Iowa State Board of Regents
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2013 Inductee into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame; her leadership and exemplary accomplishments make her a role model for all women
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2016 Professional of the Year, International Association of Who’s Who
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Certificate, Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care
Activism and education are in her blood. As a young girl, she helped her mother canvass neighborhoods and hand out literature for different causes. More recently, while on a medical mission to Tanzania, she witnessed the incredible sacrifices of women to exercise the right to vote, symbolized by purple dye on their fingers. “As I approached the clinic one day, dozens of poor women and mothers stood waiting for treatment, each of them with a purple finger.” They had walked many miles under extreme conditions to exercise their right to vote. “At that moment it struck me that I must do my share to ensure that every citizen in my own country exercises that right.”
Many Americans don’t realize the importance of their voting rights. Education is vital, and the 19th Amendment Centennial Commemoration is the perfect opportunity to reach into every American’s life with information and inspiration.
19TH AMENDMENT CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATION COMMITTEE:
Doris Kelley, chair, 19th Amendment Centennial Commemoration Committee
Dianne Bystrom, former director, Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University
Janet Carl, Grinnell League of Women Voters
Steve Corbin, Professor Emeritus of Marketing, University of Northern Iowa
Tyllie Corbin, K-12 Teacher-Librarian, Denver Community School District
Kristen Corey, Iowa Department of Human Rights, Office on the Status of Women
Judy Dirks, League of Women Voters of Metro Des Moines
Cheryl Erb, president, National 19th Amendment Society/Carrie’s Girlhood Home & Museum
Ann Gale, AAUW Iowa
Courtney Greene, 50-50 in 2020
Becky Greenwald, NEXUS Executive Women's Alliance
Linda Hagedorn, League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County
Pat Jensen, League of Women Voters of Johnson County
Sue Johannsen, League of Women Voters of Muscatine County
Dr. Karen M. Kedrowski, executive director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University
Carolyn Klaus, League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County
Jean Lloyd-Jones, 50-50 in 2020 co-founder
Linda Meloy, League of Women Voters of Johnson County
Mary Ellen Miller, board secretary, 50-50 in 2020
Bonnie Pitz, League of Women Voters State board director, past president LWVIA
Nancy Porter, League of Women Voters of Iowa
Rachelle Hunt Russian, Commissioner, Office on the Status of Women, Iowa Department of Human Rights
Mary Stewart, League of Women Voters of Ottumwa
Bev VerSteegh, League of Women Voters of Ottumwa
Maureen White, AAUW Iowa
Dawn Oliver Wiand, executive director, Iowa Women’s Foundation
Dr. Kelly Winfrey, Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University
Sasha Wohlpart, community volunteer
SUPPORTING AGENCY AND INSTITUTION PARTNERS:
American Association of University Women of Iowa
Business Professional Women of Iowa
Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University
Department of Human Rights/Iowa Commission on the Status of Women
Iowa State Education Association
League of Women Voters of Iowa
League of Women Voters of Linn County
League of Women Voters of Johnson County
League of Women Voters of Dubuque
League of Women Voters of Grinnell
League of Women Voters of Jasper County
League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Des Moines
League of Women Voters of Muscatine County
League of Women Voters of Ottumwa
League of Women Voters of Sioux City
National Nineteenth Amendment Society