Terry Neese

Terry Neese was born in Walters, Oklahoma, and raised in Cookietown, Oklahoma. She has two sisters. She graduated from Burkburnett High School in Burkburnett, Texas. Neese went on to attend the University of Oklahoma for a short time. While there, she studied secretarial science with the intention of being an administrative assistant after graduation.[2]

Neese worked for several companies in Norman, Oklahoma as a secretary, quickly progressing to office manager in these companies. Neese worked as a personnel consultant for two firms in Norman and found in these roles that she had an innate gift for placing people in careers. She gravitated toward mentoring women and advancing their careers in secretarial positions to managerial roles. After two of the companies she worked for went out of business, Neese founded her own business with $600. It later turned into a multimillion-dollar business.[2] The first company that she started was Terry Neese Personnel Service in 1975.[3] In 2000, she passed on the company to her daughter, Kim Neese-Brown.[3] Neese attributes the company's success to its being woman-owned.[4] The company has helped find employment for more than 24,000 people in Oklahoma.[5]

Neese also serves as the president and CEO of GrassRoots Impact, Inc. GrassRoots Impact provides a communications strategy for corporations and government agencies to effectively reach out to women and minorities in business.[4]

In 1986, she founded a charity called Oklahomans Helping Oklahomans.[6] The next year, she was named a co-chair for Business Partners Inc. in Oklahoma.[7]

She is the co-founder of WIPP (Women Impacting Public Policy) which was created in 2001.[8] WIPP has over 600,000 members and works to advocate for women in business.[2] Associated with this is the Institute for Educating and Empowering Women All Around the World.[9] Neese serves as the founder and CEO of this umbrella organization, which strives to educate women in business, socially, and politically. Another of Neese's organizations, Peace Through Business[10] can be found under this umbrella. Peace Through Business is a business training and mentorship program for women in Afghanistan and Rwanda.[11]

In 2001, she created the Terry Neese Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence, and SBA Women's Business Center, in which she serves as the Chairwoman of the Board.

In 1990, Neese became the first woman nominated by a major political party for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma.[2]

In 2005, Neese was selected by President George W. Bush to serve as Director of the United States Mint.[12] Neese had been a top fundraiser for Bush's campaign.[12] She declined the offer.[2]

Neese was inducted into the Enterprising Women Hall of Fame, sponsored by Enterprising Women, in 2004.[13] In 2013, she earned their Enterprising Women Legacy Award.[14]

Neese was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 2007.[5]

Neese was listed as a resident of Yukon, Oklahoma in 2019, but she subsequently rented an apartment in Oklahoma City, in the 5th congressional district, ahead of her congressional campaign.[1]

• Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project – OSU Library