Military service Olson joined the
United States Air Force in 1979. She was the first woman to go through flight training at
Laughlin Air Force Base and became one of the first female pilots in the Air Force. She served as a squadron commander of the
96th Air Refueling Squadron out of
Fairchild Air Force Base, becoming one of only eight female squadron commanders. Olson reached the rank of
colonel in 2000, which she received in May 2005. After her discharge, Olson founded Grace After Fire, a
nonprofit organization that aids female military veterans when they return to civilian life. That year, she was elected to the
school board of the
Weatherford Independent School District (WISD), representing Place 3. She resigned her seat, effective September 1, 2011, because she and her husband decided to move out of Weatherford, which made her ineligible to serve on the WISD school board. In the
2018 elections, Olson ran as a
Democrat against
Sid Miller for
Texas Agriculture Commissioner. Olson ran for the
United States House of Representatives in in the
2020 elections. She advanced to a runoff election against
Candace Valenzuela for the Democratic nomination. Olson was defeated by Valenzuela in the runoff, earning 39.6% of the vote compared to Valenzuela's 60.4%. Following the run-off, Olson spent the rest of the election season raising money for women running for office in Texas. Through her PAC, WomenWin, Olson donated funds to dozens of women running for state house, county commissioner and judicial races. ==Personal life==