2010 Panel

Ruth Harkin

Attorney & Retired Senior VP, United Technologies Corporation

Ruth R. Harkin served as United Technologies Corporation’s senior vice president, international affairs and government relations and chair of United Technologies International, UTC’s international representation arm from 1997-2005.

Mrs. Harkin was based in the corporation’s Washington, D.C. office. She joined UTC from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an independent, U.S. government-owned corporation at which she served as president and chief executive officer. Mrs. Harkin was appointed to that position by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1993.

At OPIC, Mrs. Harkin refocused the agency’s energy to better serve U.S. foreign policy and economic goals and the American business community. During her four-year tenure, OPIC greatly expanded its business with essentially the same size workforce of fewer than 200 employees. Between FY1993 and FY1996, OPIC committed more than $6 billion in financing and sold $34 billion worth of political risk insurance, supporting a total of 450 projects and earning a record four-year profit of $725 million.

A graduate of Catholic University Law School, Mrs. Harkin was one of the first women in the United States to be elected as a prosecutor when in 1972, she was elected to the office of county attorney of Story County, Iowa. She was the county’s lead criminal prosecutor and also served as its corporate attorney. From 1979 to 1981, she served as deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From 1983 to 1993, Mrs. Harkin was Of Counsel at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, where her clients included U.S. businesses engaged in international trade and investment.

Mrs. Harkin sits on the boards of directors of ConocoPhillips, Bowater, the Iowa Board of Regents and the board of visitors of the College of Business Administration, University of Iowa. She is past co-chair of the Russian Federation’s Foreign Investment Advisory Council Working Group on State Regulation of the Russian Economy. She is a member of the Iowa and Washington, D.C. bars.

Mrs. Harkin is married and has two daughters.

Dr. Sheila McGuire Riggs

Chair of the Department of Primary Care, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry

Dr. Sheila McGuire Riggs chairs the Department of Primary Care at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and directs the Office for Healthcare Transformation at the university’s academic health center. Prior to the University of Minnesota, she was president and chief executive of Delta Dental of Minnesota, which provides dental benefits to 3.4 million members working for 8,400 Minnesota-based employers. Riggs served on the Delta Dental of MN Board of Directors from 1999-2008 and the Delta Dental National Association Board of Directors from 2005-2008.

Before arriving in Minnesota, Riggs worked in the Iowa and South Dakota heath care industry for a decade. She led the analytic division of Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and served as the executive director of its health care foundation. Riggs has been a member of numerous state, regional, and national healthcare policy task forces.

Locally, Riggs is on the board of directors of the Greater Twin Cities United Way and chairs its Health Impact Committee—which distributes over $12 million annually. Riggs is president of the Women’s Health Leadership Trust and also serves on the board of directors of the YWCA and the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable. She is frequently asked to speak to young audiences on the opportunities in the fields of science and math.

Dr. McGuire Riggs received her dental degree (DDS) from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, and she earned her doctorate of medical sciences (DMSc) in epidemiology from Harvard University. She maintains faculty appointments at both universities.

Mary O’Keefe

Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, The Principal Financial Group

Mary A. O’Keefe is an executive with the Principal Financial Group^®. She is senior vice president and chief marketing officer. She is responsible for corporate marketing, communications, and strategic planning & development.

O’Keefe joined the company in 1990 as media relations manager. She was elected an officer and named director of corporate relations in 1993, and named senior vice president in 1998. She was promoted to her current position in 2004.

O’Keefe serves on the following boards: Chair, The Principal Charity Classic, Greater Des Moines Partnership Executive Committee and Board of Directors, Downtown Community Alliance, Marketing Committee of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, Kum & Go, and the National PRSA Audit Committee. She is the president of the Riverfront Development Association, president/chair of the Principal Financial Group Foundation, Inc. O’Keefe is also co-chair of the Downtown Community Alliance. In addition, she is a member of the public relations committee of the American Council of Life Insurance and was honored by Ad Age in 2007 as a “Woman to Watch” in the field of advertising.

A native of Chicago, Illinois, O’Keefe earned her bachelor's degree in 1978 from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. In 1993, she earned the APR designation (Accredited Public Relations) from the Public Relations Society of America.

Panel Facilitator

Mary Kramer

Ambassador (Ret.)

Mary was born in Burlington Iowa, graduated from Iowa City High School and holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Iowa.

Mary has served as a member of the Board of the Des Moines Club (served as President), the Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Central Iowa, the Polk County Child Care Resource Center, Brenton Bank and Mercy Hospital. She is also a lifetime member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in Iowa and received the Society’s highest national award in June of 1996.

Currently, Mary is a member of the Board of Directors for the Iowa Public Television Foundation. She is a member of the Nexus Women’s Executive Alliance and an Honorary member of Rotary.

Senator Mary Kramer served in the Iowa Senate for 13 years representing Clive, Des Moines and West Des Moines. She was first elected in 1990. In 1996, she was elected by her colleagues to preside over the Iowa Senate.

Senator Kramer retired from Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield. During her 18 years with the company she served as Vice President of Human Resources and as Vice President of Community Investments. A former teacher and school administrator, Mary was the Corporate Personnel Director for Younkers, Inc. before joining Wellmark.

President George W. Bush appointed Mary to serve as the chair of the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. Additionally, she served on the Board of the Directors for the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and was the Chairman of the board for the Senate President’s Forum. She was also a member of the Reforming States Group of the Milbank Fund, a group dedicated to population wide health improvement.

Mary was appointed by President Bush in 2003 to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean and served from 2004 to 2006. She and Kay retired from Post at the end of 2006 and returned to Iowa where they have resumed their active volunteer roles in their community.

Mary is married to Kay Kramer and they have two children and four grandchildren.

In 2009, Mary was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame. Mary will soon publish her first book, “More Than A Walk On The Beach”.