Governor Strickland was a panelist for the Forum’s discussions on The Opioid Crisis, The Health and Economic Concerns of Rural Americans, Opioids and Addiction and The Gun Violence Epidemic and Curbing Gun Violence.
Ted Strickland didn’t come to public service as a lawyer or investor, but as the son of a steelworker. As one of nine children he, like many young people from the Appalachian region of Ohio, never imagined he would be able to go to college. But, with encouragement from his family and teachers, he became the first in his family to pursue higher education.
Professionally, Ted has served as an ordained United Methodist Minister, a psychologist, and a university professor. He has worked as an administrator at a United Methodist Children’s Home, an assistant professor of psychology at Shawnee State University, and a consulting psychologist at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.
Elected to Congress in 1992, he narrowly lost reelection in 1994, only to be reelected in 1996 and to each subsequent congress until he ran successfully for governor in 2006. He became Ohio’s governor as the nation teetered on the brink of economic collapse and tackled the crisis with a plan to ensure that Ohio emerged from the recession stronger than ever by laying a foundation for economic progress and a thriving middle class. He made strategic investments in job creation, improved Ohio’s business climate, reformed education, proposed and signed into law an energy bill with strong renewable and efficiency standards and worked with the legislature to prepare Ohio for the post-recession economy.
After leaving office in 2011, he became a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University, served as a United States Alternate Delegate to the 68th United Nations General Assembly, and was a member of the Governor’s Council at the Bipartisan Policy Center. He also worked for one year as President of The Center for American Progress Action Fund before leaving that position to run for the U.S. Senate in 2016.
