Madeline Rogero
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero will discuss the Democratic Party in East Tennessee during a Sept. 23 meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Women’s Club.
Rogero is guest speaker at the meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Social Room. A meet-and-greet will take place from 5:30-6 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m., followed by Rogero’s comments, a press release said.
The dinner costs $16 per person. For reservations, send an e-mail to Ann Mostoller at [email protected] or call Mary Matheny at (865) 483-8937 by Sept. 18.
The Oak Ridge Civic Center is 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Rogero was elected in 2011, and she is the first female mayor of  Knoxville.
Before becoming mayor, she served as a community development director, county commissioner, nonprofit executive, urban and regional planner, community volunteer, and neighborhood champion in Knoxville, the release said.
In 2003, she ran a close race for mayor against Bill Haslam, now Tennessee’s governor. Three years later, Haslam asked her to join his administration to reorganize the Community Development Department.
“As director, she built a cohesive, high-functioning team with nationally recognized programs, and a new commitment to accessible, energy-efficient, and sustainable development,” the release said.
Rogero postponed her college studies in the mid-70s to work with Cesar Chavez to help farm workers improve their living and working conditions. She graduated from Furman University in South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and she received her master’s in urban and regional planning from the University of Tennessee.
Rogero has served on numerous boards in Knoxville.
She has been recognized for her efforts as a leader in sustainability and was named the 2012 Green Leader by the East Tennessee Chapter of the United States Green Building Council.
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