Summary Bio
Early Years
Attorney Years
Legislative Years
General Counsel Years
White House Years
Current Activities
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Seen
with Governor Mark White, Sarah was appointed Director of the
Texas Office of State-Federal Relations. She directed the effort
to provide information for federal agencies and the U.S. Congress
for favorable treatment of Texas.
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Dr. Sarah
Weddington lives a life of leadership and shares her expertise and
insights with others. She is a nationally known attorney and spokesperson
on leadership and public issues, and her experience and charisma
make her a highly sought after speaker
on the development of leadership skills.
Dr. Weddington
is particularly well-known for her work on issues affecting women
through her many roles which include attorney, legislator, Presidential
advisor, professor, and expert called upon by the national media
and institutions of higher learning.
She is a proven
leader in government at the state and national levels. In 1973,
she became the first woman from Austin
to serve in the 150-member Texas House of Representatives, serving
for three terms. In 1977, she was the first woman ever to hold the
title of General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture where
Dr. Weddington supervised more than 200 lawyers. From 1978 to 1981,
she served as Assistant to President Jimmy Carter, directing
the Administration's work on women's issues and leadership outreach.
From 1983 to 1985, she was the first female director of the Texas
Office of State-Federal Relations.
Dr. Weddington
writes and travels extensively, speaking on the development of leadership
skills (read her praise from professional organizations).
From 1981 through 1990, Dr. Weddington was a Distinguished Lecturer
at Texas Woman's University (TWU)
and an adjunct professor in the Department of History and Government
in 1993. She is currently an adjunct professor at the University
of Texas at Austin, where she is shaping a new generation of leaders
through her classes "Gender-Based Discrimination" and "Leadership
in America" (view praise from students in her leadership classes).
She received
her J.D. from The University
of Texas School of Law in 1967 and is a Distinguished Alumna
of McMurry University in Abilene,
Texas. She holds several honorary doctorates.
A founding
member of the Foundation for Women's Resources, Dr. Weddington has
been integral to all of its activities, including the Leadership
Texas and Leadership America programs. Moreover, she
assisted in the creation of The Women's Museum in Dallas,
Texas. In March 2001, Dr. Weddington returned to TWU
for The Sarah Weddington Centennial Leadership Conference. She is
currently working on her next book on the topic of leadership and
self-renewal.
In her first
book, A Question of Choice, Dr. Weddington detailed the landmark
Roe v. Wade case, which she successfully argued as a young attorney before the US Supreme Court in 1973.
She is believed to be the youngest person ever to win a case before
the US Supreme Court.
Dr. Weddington
has received numerous honors and awards. In 2000, Texas Lawyer
named her "One of the Most Influential Lawyers of the 20th
Century," and the Houston Chronicle named her as one
of "The Tallest Texans - Those who left their mark on Texas
and the rest of the world in the 20th Century." In 1999, she
was honored as a "Texas Woman of the Century" by the Women's Chamber
of Commerce of Texas and named a "Face of the Century" by the San
Antonio (TX) Express-News. She is featured for her "Courage
to Challenge" in Women of Courage: Inspiring Stories from the
Women Who Lived Them by Katherine Martin.
In 1998, Dr.
Weddington was the recipient of Leadership America's Hummingbird
award for contributions toward the advancement of women's leadership
and McMurry University's Trailblazer award for "setting a
path for others to follow as servant leaders." In 1995, she was
inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa Society, the national leadership
honor society. She was given the 1993 Woman of Distinction award
at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders. In
1990, she was named by the National Association for Campus Activities
as "Best College Lecturer," and in 1980, she received the Planned
Parenthood of America's highest honor, the Margaret Sanger
award. Time Magazine named her one of the "Outstanding Young
American Leaders." She has been selected as one of the ten "Outstanding
Women in America." She has been featured in such publications as
Working Women, People Magazine, and the Washington Post
and has been a guest on such programs as The Today Show, Good
Morning America, and CBS Morning News.
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