The BM Chapter of P.E.O., in conjunction with Rogers State University’s Carl G. and Gladys L. Herrington Distinguished Lecture Series, will feature a presentation from Dr. Terry Neese, a prominent Oklahoma entrepreneur and business leader.
Dr. Neese, who was named Oklahoma’s most admired CEO of 2013, will speak at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, April 4, in the Dr. Carolyn Taylor Center Ballroom. Admission is $10 and includes brunch. Doors open at 9:45 a.m. Tickets are available by calling the RSU Foundation office at 918-343-8357 or Rogers County Abstract Company at 918-341-0525 or from any Chapter BM P.E.O. Member.
Dr. Neese is a lifelong Oklahoman and has spent more than thirty years finding careers for men and women. She is the founder of Terry Neese Personnel Services (TNPS), National Grassroots Network, Women Impacting Public Policy and the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW).
A member of the U.S. Afghan Women’s Council, past national president of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and founder of Terry Neese Personnel Services, Dr. Neese is known as a small business expert and was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the “Power 30”—the most influential small businesspersons in Washington, D.C. She has been featured in several media outlets including MSNBC, FOX News, CNN, SBTV, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Examiner and the Washington Times.
Dr. Neese is an inductee into the National and Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fames. She has been extensively involved with women business owners and family issues through her participation in the Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), which joins together a membership across the nation totaling over half-million women entrepreneurs and executives and serves as a voice for women in business at the United States Capitol. She also has been active with as a Distinguished Fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis leading the organization’s Family Policy Center and developing policy ideas that helped women, families, and small businesses keep more of their earned money and make better financial and health choices. In addition, she conducted bipartisan briefings on family issues with congressional leaders and their staffs and has regularly testified before the U.S. House and Senate.
A successful businesswoman, Dr. Neese made history in 1990 when she became the first woman nominated by a major political party for lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. She was named an Outstanding Business Leader by the Northwood University Board of Trustees in 2006 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the university in 2008. In 2013 she received the Enterprising Women Legacy Award, the National Women Business Owners Corporation Leadership Award, and the Journal Record’s “Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEO.”
She has been appointed to numerous councils and positions with nominations by prominent leaders, such as Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, including:
- Board of Director to the Euro-American Women’s Council
- S.-Afghanistan Women’s Council, through which she traveled to Afghanistan in 2007
- National Advisory Council on Indian Education
- Les Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises Mondiales (FCEM) Regional Commissioner for the Americas
- National Women’s Business Council (a bipartisan federal government council created to serve as an independent source of advice and counsel to the President and Congress)
- Advisory Council for the United States Committee for United Nations Development Fund for Women
Dr. Neese also is a pilot and has been married to Earl N. Neese for 39 years. Their daughter, Kim Neese, is CEO of Terry Neese Personnel Services and has two children, Emily and Erin. They all reside in Oklahoma City.
The late Carl G. and Gladys L. Herrington established the Herrington Distinguished Lectureship Endowment in 1989 through the RSU Foundation as a way to provide exceptional educational opportunities for students. Mr. Herrington, a retired Exxon executive, served on the RSU Foundation Board of Directors and was a long-time supporter of the university. In 1990, RSU awarded him with the Jefferson Fellow Award. Herrington Hall, which houses the institution’s School of Professional Studies, was named in honor of the Herrington family in 1995. Dr. Neese will meet with RSU students in a separate event as part of this RSU lecture series.