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Stephanie Herseth Sandlin

Professional Sioux Falls, SD

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin grew up on her family’s fourthgeneration farm and ranch on the edge of the Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Houghton, South Dakota. She was raised in a family deeply committed to government and public service. Her grandfather, Ralph E. Herseth, served in the state senate and as South Dakota’s 21st Governor from 1959-1961. Her father, R. Lars Herseth, served for twenty years in the state legislature and was the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1986. It was her grandmother, Lorna Buntrock Herseth, however, who was the first in the family to win elective office. She was elected as Brown County Superintendent of Schools in the 1930s, and after serving as First Lady, Lorna was elected and re-elected to the office of Secretary of State of South Dakota, serving from 1973-1979. Stephanie was a typical farm girl—she loved horses, raised pheasants, and picked sweet corn to sell on the roadside with her older brother, Todd. She also started playing the piano in the second grade and continues to play to this day. In high school, she excelled in athletics, playing on the varsity basketball team all

four years and running the third leg for the 1988 state champion 1600-meter relay team for the Groton Tigers. During her senior year, Stephanie was also elected Governor of South Dakota Girls State sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, and was valedictorian of her graduating class. The importance of good government and the art of politics were instilled in Stephanie at an early age, and she inherited the desire to serve in public life. Stephanie chose to attend college in our nation’s capital of Washington, D.C., graduating summa cum laude from Georgetown University, where she also earned her law and master degrees. During this time, she interned for then Congressman Tim Johnson, studied abroad in Quito, Ecuador, was elected Chair of the Georgetown University Student Assembly, and was a senior editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. After working for two federal judges—Charles B. Kornmann of the District Court for South Dakota and Diana Gribbon Motz on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals—Stephanie joined the litigation group of a national law firm, but shortly thereafter decided to run for Congress at the age of 31, following encouragement she received from family and friends who believed in her leadership and her ability to effectively represent South Dakota. It was her mother, Joyce Stiles Guhin, who gave Stephanie the final push and courage to become a candidate for public office. While she was able to secure the Democratic Party nomination in a four-way primary election in 2002, the late former Governor Bill Janklow won the general election, and Stephanie transitioned to lead the South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation as its first Executive Director, working to strengthen cooperative education and enhance rural economic development. In 2004, Stephanie ran for Congress again and won a special election, going on to serve four terms in the United States House. She was the first woman elected

A Family Tradition of Public Service

to the U.S. House from South Dakota as well as the youngest woman serving in the House during that time. Stephanie specialized in policy matters important to South Dakota including agriculture, renewable energy, veterans’ education and tribal affairs. She helped draft and enact the 2008 Farm Bill, the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. Significant energy legislation Stephanie helped pass in 2005 and 2007 established and then expanded the Renewable Fuels Standard, furthering the growth of the state’s vibrant ethanol industry. She was also chosen by House leadership to serve as a voice for rural America on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Stephanie earned a number of national distinctions while serving in Congress, including being named among the Ten Outstanding Young Americans in 2006 by the U.S. Junior Chamber and TIME magazine’s 40 Under 40 new civic leaders in 2010. After leaving Congress in 2011, Stephanie established a public policy practice centered on bioenergy, food safety and nutrition, serving clients in South Dakota and throughout the region. She also consulted for Raven Industries, a South Dakota-based, publiclytraded company, and, in 2012, she was invited to join the company as its first General Counsel and Vice President of Corporate Development. While at Raven, Stephanie established a legal and regulatory compliance department, enhanced the corporate development and enterprise risk management functions, was actively involved in strategic planning,

and negotiated the largest acquisition in the company’s history. For the past four years, Stephanie also has served on the Board of Directors of CoBank within the Farm Credit System in order to maintain her commitment to growing rural America. She is a passionate supporter of the arts, and serves on the volunteer board for Levitt at the Falls, an organization committed to strengthening the Sioux Falls community through music. She was recently invited by 2016 Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Richard Holm to join the board of the Healing Words Foundation, and, in the past, Stephanie has served on other local and national boards, commissions and steering committees. On February 22, 2017, the Board of Trustees of Augustana University announced Stephanie’s appointment as its 24th President, a position she assumed on August 1, 2017. Her appointment marks the first time in Augustana’s 157-year history that a woman will serve as president. As Stephanie undertakes this new opportunity, she is committed to advancing Augustana’s mission as a premier liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and to cultivating even closer connections between students, faculty, the administration, and over 30,000 proud Vikings alumni across the globe. Stephanie is married to Max Sandlin, a former congressman who served the First District of Texas from 1997-2005. Max is an attorney and recent Chairman of the Board of Feeding South Dakota. They live in Sioux Falls with their 8-year-old son Zachary and enjoy all things baseball and bluegrass. Stephanie and Max also have four older children—Hillary, Trey, Emily and Christian— as well as three beautiful granddaughters, all of whom currently reside in Texas.

Nominator: Jim Woster

South Dakota Hall of Fame Visitor & Education Center in Chamberlain

Located in Chamberlain, South Dakota, the 10,000 square foot facility overlooks the beautiful Missouri River and makes a perfect setting for honoring the great people that shaped our state.

Summer Hours (Memorial Day - Labor Day) Monday - Friday 9am – 5pm Saturday 9am – 5pm

Winter Hours Monday - Friday 9am – 5pm

Located in Chamberlain Just off I90, Exit 263

Admission by donation

The USD class of 1970 congratulates our friend & classmate on the recognition he is receiving. His dedication to our state, our university & human kind is a shining star for all South Dakotans. We thank him for the culture of excellence he has exhibited.