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Representative Sara Gelser Biography Assistant Majority Leader Sara Gelser has served in the Oregon Legislature since 2005, representing Philomath and Corvallis. During the 2007 session, Sara served on the Revenue Committee, the Health Care Committee, and was Vice Chair of the Human Services and Women's Wellness Committee. During the 2007-2008 interim, Gelser continued on these committees and was appointed to the Seniors and People with Disabilities Committee and the Oregon Tort Reform Task Force. She also serves as co-chair of the House Majority Policy Committee. During the 2007 session, Gelser passed Karly's Law which will improve child abuse investigations statewide and a Medicaid waiver bill which will allow children with severe disabilities to grow up in their family homes rather than foster care or nursing facilities. She also saw successful passage of a bill to allow statewide electronic permitting for contractors. This was the largest regulatory streamlining initiative for the construction industry in the United States. Gelser was a founding member of the new Oregon Senior and Disability Caucus, and the only female member of the 5 under 35 caucus. In 2007 Sara was recognized with a "Champion" award by the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities, and received the Sylvia Mann Capper Award in recognition of her work on behalf of people with developmental disabilities. At the end of session, Gelser was recognized by the Oregon Nurse's Association as one of four "Rising Stars" in the Oregon Legislature. Sara served on the Corvallis School Board from 2001 until August of 2006, and is a past president of The Arc of Benton County. She is a member of the Corvallis chapter of Zonta, and was named Corvallis Junior First Citizen by the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce in 2004. She is an active member of Grace Lutheran Church in Corvallis. Prior to her legislative service, Gelser worked as a policy analyst for the Oregon Department of Human Service and as a parent educator for Linn-Benton Community College and the Oregon Parent Training and Information Center. Gelser is the founder of the FG Syndrome Family Alliance, a non-profit organization serving families and medical professionals around the world touched by this unusual syndrome. Gelser earned her BA in history and education from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and an MAIS degree from Oregon State University. She lives in Corvallis with her husband, Peter, and their four children—Sam, Ellie, Nicole and Maia. |
