Description

"A Woman's Place: The Role of Real Women in Texas Politics and Business."

Senator Shapiro will speak about the role of women in politics and business, sharing her own personal experiences and expertise from her role as a working mom, to become the first female mayor of Plano, to serving in the Texas Senate.

Florence Shapiro was elected to the Texas Senate in 1993. But her journey into Texas politics began years prior and miles away from the Texas Capitol. As a former public school teacher, she first entered elected office as a Plano City Council member. Following six terms on the council, she was elected Mayor of Plano. During this time, she also served as President of the Texas Municipal League and the North Texas Council of Governments.Senator Shapiro's issues while serving in the Senate have been many.

As a champion of children, she passed landmark legislation to protect against sexual predators. Her series of bills known as Ashley's Laws, protects against, adjudicates, and punishes sex offenders whose victims are children. These laws, which began in 1995, were national benchmarks, and Senator Shapiro continues to dedicate herself to improving the safety and security of our children. In 1999, Senator Shapiro became chair of the Senate State Affairs Committee and committed herself to the issue of transportation, creating the first fund for Texas mobility.

In 2003, she became chair of the Senate Education Committee, where she recently passed legislation to overhaul the state's school finance system. Her landmark House Bill 1 significantly lowers property taxes, provides more money for schools, along with a teacher pay raise and the first ever incentive pay program, educational reforms at the high school level to promote college readiness and curb dropouts, and better accountability for schools. Her leadership has earned her many honors over the years.

Most recently, she was named to the Legislative Honor Roll by the Texas Association of Realtors, and was awarded the Celebration of Enterprise Award for the public official business partner of the year, given by Inside Collin County Business, as well as the Bob Bullock Award for Public Stewardship given by Government Technology Conference, the Real Women Award from the Girl Scouts of the USA Tejas Council and the Outstanding Service Award from Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas.