Deborah Ann Turner

She was born in Mason City, Iowa in 1950. She graduated from Mason City High School in 1969. In 1973 she received a B.S. degree from Iowa State University where she was the first African-American woman asked to join a sorority. Turner was first interested in medicine because her older sister, Delores, was a registered nurse. She later became interested in becoming a doctor when her husband asked why she didn't become a doctor. She went on to earn her M.D. from the University of Iowa in 1978. In 2007 she received her J.D. from Drake University. == Career ==

Turner practiced gynecologic oncology for 35 years at several universities including the University of Nebraska, the University of Iowa and the Medical College of Wisconsin. In July 2015 she stopped practicing medicine to work at the Iowa-based Outreach Program as vice president of International Programs. In June 2020 Turner was elected president of the League of Women Voters. She was reelected to the same position in June 2022. == Honors and awards ==

In 1983 she was named an 'outstanding young woman of America'. == References ==