At the League’s 54th National Convention (conducted virtually), delegates representing Leagues throughout the United States elected Dr. Deborah Turner as the new LWVUS president.
Deborah Turner, MD, JD, is the 20th president of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) and chair of the Board of Trustees of the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF). She will serve until June 2022.
Previous LWV Experience
Dr. Turner was president of Des Moines Metropolitan League and vice president of the LWV Iowa board from 2011 until 2015. She was elected to the League’s national board of directors in 2016 where she served on the Finance committee, Governance Committee, and chaired the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. As chair of the DEI Committee, Deborah and her colleagues focused on organizational culture changes to the League’s mission work. They emphasized racial equity as well as equity for all the diverse groups in American society.
Experience as a doctor
Dr. Turner received her BS from Iowa State University and her MD from University of Iowa. She practiced gynecologic oncology for 35 years, enhancing university programs at the University of Nebraska, University of Iowa, and the Medical College of Wisconsin. She also served the private sector in Davenport, IA, Mason City, IA, and in Des Moines. In July 2015, she left active practice to become Vice President of International Medical Programs of The Outreach Program. She participated in twelve medical missions to Tanzania since 2011 and worked with Singida’s Medical Center, Outreach’s Children’s Feeding Centers, and Rotary International. She received her JD from Drake University in 2007. She has served as Associate Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of North Central States since 2016.
Honors and awards
Turner was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 2013 and received the Gertrude Rush Award from the National Bar Association in 2015. She was awarded the Louise Noun Visionary Women of the year award from Young Womens Resource Center Des Moines in 2018. Her most treasured award is a certificate from the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care. She lives in Nebraska and has two grown children – a son and a niece.