SPEAKERS
State Treasurer Sarah Steelman
Sarah Steelman is the first Republican woman in Missouri history to be elected to the office of State Treasurer. A working mother who has dedicated her life to public service, she was administered the oath of office by her father, John Hearne, to become Missouri’s 44th state Treasurer on January 10, 2005.
Treasurer Steelmansteelman is responsible for the management of more than $19 billion in Missouri’s annual revenue. She oversees the investment of more than $3 billion in long- and short-term investments in the state’s portfolio. She is in charge of the state’s efforts to return more than $300 million in cash and valuables to citizens through the unclaimed property program.
An economist, Treasurer Steelman reshaped the state’s financial priorities by correcting Missouri’s overall investment policy from simple comparative yield to a cumulative yield strategy to increase the benefits Missouri’s investments bring to all citizens.
In her first months in office, she eliminated foreign-owned investment companies from the state’s preferred list of financial broker-dealers. She advocated and won passage of a comprehensive overhaul of state banking laws to bring Missouri tax dollars back to the state. She won legislative approval for changes to allow Missouri deposits to be directly invested in Missouri communities to strengthen local and state economies, create jobs and bolster Missouri farms and agricultural business.
Steelman is the first treasurer in Missouri history to win approval for a plan to make the state’s Treasury self-funded. This approach freed up more than $1 million in General Revenue by adapting a private-sector model that pays for the Treasurer’s Office out of interest the office earns by managing state investments.
Treasurer Steelman serves as chairman of the state’s Higher Education Savings Board, which administers the Missouri Saving for Tuition, or MOST program. This program helps citizens save for the college education of their children through a tax advantaged investment program. Treasurer Steelman serves as Chairman of the Missouri Housing Development Commission, a member of the governing board of the Missouri State Employee Retirement System and the Board of Fund Commissioners that oversees issuance of debt instruments by the state.
In 1998 and 2002, Steelman was elected to serve as the Senator for the 16th Senatorial District. As a member of the Senate, Steelman served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce and the Environment. She served as a member of the Senate Committee on Aging, Families, Mental and Public Health; a member of the Senate Committee on Education; and a member of the Senate Committee on Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight.
She also served on the Missouri Consolidated Health Plan Board of Trustees; the Joint Task Force on Terrorism, Bio-Terrorism and Homeland Security; and the Joint Committee on Rules.
As a state lawmaker, Steelman passed a number of key measures, including major economic development bills, revisions to the sunshine law making it easier for citizens to get access to records and open meetings, a bill requiring hospitals to take measures to reduce and prevent staph infections, and a charitable check off that allows taxpayers to contribute to medical research to find cures for serious illnesses. She also introduced and placed on the ballot Constitutional Amendment No. 2, the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which was adopted by voters in August 2004, to define marriage in Missouri as a union between one man and one woman.
Steelman has been awarded the Missouri Watch- Defender of Patient Safety Award, the MPS Award of Excellence for making CCW a reality, the James Kirkpatrick Award, the NAMI Legislative Hero award, the Associated Industries Voice of Missouri Business Award, Disabled Citizens Alliance Award, the Pathways Partnership Award, the Phyllis Schlafly & The Eagles Forum God/Family/Country Award, the Sheriff's Association Senator of the Year Award, the Missouri Osteopathic Distinguished Health Legislative Award and the Outstanding Legislator Award by the Speech, Language Hearing Association.
Previously, Steelman served as deputy director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources – Division of Geology and Land Survey. She also worked as an economist for the Department of Revenue and as an adjunct professor in economics at Lincoln University. She served as an investment broker and as the director of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program in Rolla, a not-for-profit organization that matches children in need of attention with volunteer mentors.
Steelman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Master of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
She and her husband, David, make their home in Rolla with their three sons, Sam, Joe and Michael. Her step-daughter, Amanda Steelman, resides with her husband, Taylor, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
