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 Steelman is responsible for the management of more than $20 billion in Missouri’s annual revenue. She oversees the investment of proximately $4 billion in the state’s portfolio.

In her first months in office, she eliminated foreign-owned investment companies from the state’s preferred list of financial broker-dealers. To protect tax dollars against terror-related security risk, she won approval for screening measure to prevent investments in companies with financial ties to the governments of nations the U.S. State department has identified as sponsors of terrorism. She established the nation’s first terror-screened fund handling public investments.

Steelman worked with state lawmakers to enact a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s linked-deposit program, BIG Missouri. This program helps ensure Missouri businesses and farms have access to affordable capital they need to grow, create jobs and succeed in competitive business environments.

Between taking office in January 2005 and December 2006, Steelman doubled the amount of state tax dollars invested in the state of Missouri. For the first time, she also established systems that included community reinvestment activity in the placement of time deposits in Missouri institutions.

As Treasurer, Steelman’s responsibilities include overseeing the return of unclaimed abandoned money to citizens through the Division of Unclaimed Property. For the past two years, records amounts of money were returned to rightful owners, with more than $21 million returned in fiscal year 2006.

Treasurer Steelman serves as chairman of the state’s Higher Education Savings Board, which administers MOST—Missouri’s 529 College Savings Plan. This plan helps citizens save for their children’s college education through a tax-advantaged investment program. She also worked with colleges and universities across the state to establish special scholarships for Missouri families who save for college through the MOST plan.

Treasurer Steelman serves on the Missouri Housing Development Commission, is 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 state lawmaker, Steelman passed major economic development bills, improvements to Missouri’s Sunshine Law making it easier for citizens and the press to access records and public meetings 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 stepdaughter, Amanda Steelman, resides with her husband, Taylor, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.