What the University Must Do: Challenges from a Friend

Senator Terri Bonoff

Senator Terri Bonoff represents District 44 in the Minnesota Senate, which includes parts of Minnetonka, Plymouth and Medicine Lake. She began her 20-year business career working in the family business of Jackson Graves, a women's clothing company, before moving on to Tonka Toys as manager of promotional services. She then served as vice president and general manager for the computer products division of the publicly held and Plymouth, MN based Navarre Corporation. After serving on the Minnetonka Planning Commission and co-chairing the Hopkins School District Legislative Action Coalition, Senator Bonoff made her first run for political office in 2005. In her successful bid, she replaced retiring State Senator David Gaither in a special election. In 2006, she was again successful in a bid for re-election. Senator Bonoff has made education a major focus of her work in the Senate, with particular emphasis on early childhood education, education policy reform and reform of Minnesota's education finance system and administrative structures. She championed alternative teacher licensure legislation in the 2009 and 2010 Legislative Sessions. In the 2010 Session, she passed legislation creating the Commission on Service Innovation, which is drafting a strategic plan for a structural redesign of the delivery of government services in Minnesota. In the 2011 Session, she was the Chief Author of the consolidation of OET, which passed into law and is now being implemented.