Sen. Bice chosen for prestigious public leadership fellowship

State Sen. Stephanie Bice has been chosen for the prestigious Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership, one of only 24 lawmakers nationwide. Bice, R-Oklahoma City, was notified Tuesday that she’d been selected for the class of 2018.

The Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships program is headed by former U.S. Congressman Mickey Edwards of Edmond. The organization works to identify rising political stars, seeking to build lasting bonds among these lawmakers and address the need for bipartisanship and leadership in governing and in the development of public policy.

Bice’s selection for the Rodel Fellowship is the result of an intensive year-long national search.

“I am excited and deeply honored to have been chosen for the Rodel Fellowship,” Bice said. “Finding effective, long-term solutions that will move Oklahoma forward requires the ability to work across partisan divisions and to promote greater civility in the political process. It’s a philosophy I have long embraced and it’s at the heart of the Aspen Institute’s mission.”

Bice authored legislation leading to the most sweeping modernization of Oklahoma’s liquor laws since the repeal of prohibition in 1959. Those changes took effect October 1. She’s been tapped as the next Senate Finance Committee Chair and currently serves as Assistant Majority Floor Leader as well as Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Vice Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Business and Commerce.

Previous honors include her selection for the U.S. States Legislative Leaders Foundation Emerging Leaders Class of 2015. She was named GOPAC Emerging Leader for 2015 and received the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce Rising Star award. Bice was also selected as a member of the Governing Institute Women in Government Leadership Class of 2016.