Sara G. Steelman of Indiana, Pennsylvania

Indiana, Pennsylvania

Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,895 at the 2000 census.The borough and the region as a whole promotes itself as the "Christmas Tree Capital of the World" because the national Christmas Tree Grower's Association was...

, American biologist and politician, served seven terms as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two year terms from single member districts....

 from 1991 until 2002. Steelman is married to John Henry Steelman, a mathematics professor at Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

. She is a 1963 graduate of Southeast High Schoo

Wichita High School Southeast

Wichita Southeast High School, known locally as Southeast, is a fully accredited urban high school, serving students in grades 9-12, located in Wichita, Kansas. The school is within the Unified School District 259. The current principal is Leroy Parks. Wichita High School Southeast is one of many...

 in Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

. She graduated with a degree in Zoology

Zoology

Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

 from the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 in 1967 and earned a Ph.D. in behavioural genetics

Behavioural genetics

Quantitative human behavioural genetics is a specialisation in the biological field of behaviour genetics that studies the role of genetics in human behaviour employing quantitative-genetic methods. The field is an overlap of quantitative genetics and psychology...

 from Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 in 1976. She moved to Indiana in 1986 when her husband joined the faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...

.

She was first elected to represent the 62nd legislative district

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 62

The 62nd Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located within Indiana County includes the following areas:* Armagh* Black Lick Township* Blairsville* Buffington Township* Burrell Township* Center Township...

 in 1990, defeated Republican Paul Wass

Paul Wass

Paul Wass is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.-References:...

. She was also a supporter of reform of house rules to provide more openness and more participation by rank and file legislators. She proposed a keg registration

Keg registration

Beer keg registration is a legal requirement in some U.S. states and localities that identification tags or labels be affixed to beer kegs upon retail sale. They often consist of requirements that tags and records retained by the retailer list the name and address of the purchaser, the date and...

 law to combat underage drinking.

She was defeated for re-election in 2002

Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2002

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...

 by 24-year old Republican Dave L. Reed

Dave L. Reed

Dave L. Reed is a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He represents the 62nd District, made up of parts of Indiana County....

. Both candidates made improving the local economic climate part of their platforms. As a challenger, Reed raised $120,000 for the campaign and knocked on 11,000 doors in the district. During the campaign, Steelman "erupted" on the district's airwaves with taxpayer-funded "public service announcements" for the first time in a decade.

She then worked as director of the Indiana Arts Council.