Shelli Renee Yoder (born August 30, 1968) is an American politician serving in the

Indiana Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year term ...

for

Monroe County, Indiana Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 1910 the US Census Bureau calculated the nation's mean population center to lie in Monroe County. The population was 137,974 at the 2010 United States Census. The county seat is Bloomin ...

from Senate District 40. A former

Miss Indiana The Miss Indiana competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Indiana in the Miss America Pageant. Elizabeth Hallal of Georgetown was crowned Miss Indiana 2022 on June 18, 2022 at STAR Bank Performing Arts Cente ...

and a

Miss America 1993 Miss America 1993 was the 66th Miss America pageant, which was held on September 19, 1992. The winner, Leanza Cornett, was the first Miss Florida to take the crown. She later became a television personality for programs such as '' Entertainmen ...

contestant, Yoder has held positions at a number of nonprofit organizations. She was the Democratic nominee for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Indiana's 9th congressional district Indiana's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. Located in south-central and southeastern Indiana, the district stretches from the south suburbs of Indianapolis to the Indiana side of the Louisvi ...

in 2012 and 2016. However, she was defeated both times by Republicans: first by

Todd Young Todd Christopher Young (born August 24, 1972) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Indiana, a seat he has held since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Young previously served as the U.S. re ...

and then by Trey Hollingsworth. In June 2020, she won the Democratic primary for Indiana state senate district 40. She was elected on November 3, 2020. She was sworn in on November 17, 2020.

Biography

Yoder is a native of

Shipshewana, Indiana Shipshewana is a town in Newbury Township, LaGrange County, Indiana, United States. The population was 658 at the 2010 census. It is the location of the Menno-Hof Amish & Mennonite Museum, which showcases the history of the Amish and Mennonite p ...

. She studied

interpersonal communication Interpersonal communication is an exchange of information between two or more people. It is also an area of research that seeks to understand how humans use verbal and nonverbal cues to accomplish a number of personal and relational goals. Inter ...

at Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne and has a master's degree in counseling and human services from

Indiana University South Bend Indiana University South Bend (IU South Bend) is a public university in South Bend, Indiana. It is the third largest and northernmost campus of Indiana University. History Indiana University began offering classes in South Bend in 1922 as an ...

. In 2002 she earned a master's degree from

Vanderbilt University Divinity School The Vanderbilt Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion (usually Vanderbilt Divinity School) is an interdenominational divinity school at Vanderbilt University, a major research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of o ...

. Yoder won the 1992

pageant and was second runner-up in the Miss America pageant that year. While competing in pageants, she developed

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gr ...

. She moved to Tennessee, where she was Assistant Director of GirlForce, an advocacy group for anorexia awareness, and Executive Director of the

Eating Disorders Coalition The Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) is a Washington, D.C. advocacy organization working to advance the federal recognition of eating disorders as a public health priority. The EDC was founded in 2000 and is incorporated in Massachusetts. The fu ...

of Tennessee. She is a lecturer at the

Kelley School of Business The Kelley School of Business (KSB) is an undergraduate and graduate business school at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. , approximately 7,500 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are ...

2012 U.S. House campaign

In February 2012, Yoder entered the race for

. In a crowded primary field of five candidates, Yoder clinched the Democratic nomination with 47% of the primary vote in May. During the primary, Yoder emphasized job creation, worker training, funding for health research, and investment in infrastructure and clean energy. She credited her success to a grassroots campaign, vowing to take on big money and special interests and be a voice for working families. Former Governor

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 2009 ...

used his political action committee to support Yoder, calling her race a key one for Democrats in 2012. The candidates Dean's PAC supported were known as the

Dean Dozen The "Dean Dozen" in American politics, was the collective term for six groups of 12 candidates endorsed by Democracy for America, the political action committee led by former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean, in the 2004 ...

. In the general election campaign, Yoder challenged Republican Representative

to 13 town hall debates, one in each of the district's counties, noting that Young had challenged Representative Baron Hill to numerous debates in the 2010 campaign. She criticized Young's association with Representative

Todd Akin William Todd Akin (July 5, 1947 – October 3, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in New York City, Akin grew up in the Greater St. Louis ...

and their co-sponsoring of

No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act () is a bill that was introduced to the 112th Congress of the United States in the House of Representatives by Rep. Chris Smith ( R-New Jersey) and Dan Lipinski ( D-Illinois). The bill's stated purpose is " ...

, which originally included the term "forcible rape"; the word "forcible" was later removed from the bill, and Young distanced himself from Akin's remarks. Young defeated Yoder with 55% of the vote to her 45%. ;Results

Monroe County Council

After her 2012 Congressional campaign, Yoder was selected to fill the remainder of Vic Kelson's term on the Monroe

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

by a special caucus of the Monroe County Democratic Party. In 2017, Yoder helped organize the first-ever South Central Opioid Summit in Bloomington, which brought together healthcare professionals, social service workers, policy experts and police officers in order to examine ways to increase treatment for those suffering from opiate addiction. In 2018, Yoder became the president of the Monroe County Council. And she was subsequently re-elected to the council by a margin of over 25 percentage points in the autumn. She ran on a campaign of improving mental health, drug treatment and dealing with the opioid crisis. She has also been outspoken against projects that threaten the Lake Monroe Watershed and advocates for the unique ecosystems found within south-central Indiana's state and national forests.

2016 Congressional campaign

In August 2015, Yoder announced that she would run again for the same seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Young was not running for reelection, instead opting to run for Indiana's open

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat. Yoder was defeated by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

businessman Trey Hollingsworth in the 2016 general election.

Indiana State Senate

In June 2020, Yoder won the Democratic Primary for Indiana State Senate district 40, securing a landslide of approximately 80% of the vote. She defeated the Indiana Democratic State Party Chairman, John Zody. She was elected on November 3, 2020 and was sworn in on November 17, 2020. In November 2022, Yoder was elected by the Democratic caucus to serve as the assistant leader.

Personal life

Yoder married Josh Perry, a professor at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest ca ...

. They have three children and live in Bloomington. In April 2019, Yoder's daughter Oakley made international headlines, when the daughter was bit by a venomous snake on a camping trip in Illinois. Oakley was flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital and treated with anti-venom drugs. But although she was in the hospital for less than 24 hours, Shelli Yoder and her husband Josh received a hospital bill for $142,938. This included a bill for $55,577 for the helicopter and the cost of $68,172 for the various venom antidotes. In May 2020, Vanderbilt Divinity School recognized Yoder as one of their top three most distinguished alumni for the year, recognizing her for her work at the First United Church of Bloomington, in addition to her achievements in public service.

References

External links

Shelli Yoder for State Senate
official campaign site *
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

Collected news and commentary
from

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoder, Shelli 1968 births Living people American women in business Businesspeople from Indiana Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne alumni Miss America 1993 delegates Politicians from Bloomington, Indiana People from LaGrange County, Indiana Vanderbilt University alumni Indiana University South Bend alumni Beauty queen-politicians American beauty pageant winners Democratic Party Indiana state senators Women in Indiana politics