Sheila Klinker

Sheila Klinker is the outreach liaison for Purdue University and has been the Democratic representative of Indiana’s District 27 since 1982. She is presently chairman of the K-12 Education Subcommittee and serves on three House committees: Ways and Means; Local Government; and Judiciary. She was the first woman appointed to the Tippecanoe Area Planning Commission and is presently a member several committees, such as the budget committee for Ways and Means, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety, Education, Family, Children and Human Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development, and a supporter of Tippecanoe County arts and education associations.

Representative Klinker is known as an advocate for individuals with disabilities and has received several awards for her efforts, including the Legislative Award from the Association of Retarded Citizens, the Indiana Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Special Recognition Award, the Sycamore Girl Scout Woman of Distinction Award, and the BPW Salute to Politics Award. She most recently accepted the Arc of Indiana Lifetime Achievement Award.