“As a rancher, a civil servant, and a business owner, I am inspired by the suffragists’ tenacity in the face of seemingly overwhelming obstacles. The Women’s Suffrage National Monument – the first monument on the National Mall to celebrate women’s contributions to American democracy – will inspire future generations to be bold, stick to their convictions, and persevere.”
The Honorable Susan Combs is a successful, experienced executive at both the state and federal level. She has 16 years of statewide leadership in Texas, providing strategic and innovative management, as well as nearly three years at the U.S. Department of the Interior in executive management. At Interior, Combs was the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget and Chief Financial Officer. In that role, she led the transformation and reorganization of the Department. On behalf of the Department of Interior, she served as the Chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, which was created by Congress to coordinate the national celebration of the 19th Amendment centennial throughout 2020. She has a strong record of support for and encouragement of women.
Combs is presently a Fellow at the University of Texas Center for Identity where she is working to assist on matters relating to personal data privacy. She is also on the Board of the Texas Coastal Exchange, an effort aimed at improving coastal resilience and preserving land threatened by storm surge.
In Texas, Combs served in various elected positions between 1993 and 2015. Combs served as the state’s Comptroller, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to 2015. One of her most important accomplishments was to establish an educational online tool to evaluate all public schools in Texas– comparing academic results and spending decisions. Combs was the first woman Agriculture Commissioner and served from 1998 to 2007. She transformed the school lunch program to ensure healthier to reduce childhood obesity. She was featured in TIME magazine for that effort.
Combs was a state legislator from 1993 to 1996 with a proven record of writing and passing landmark legislation. As head of two state agencies, she streamlined operations, ensuring more efficient and cost-effective programs, and received national recognition. She has written a memoir, Texas Tenacity, outlining her path towards public service, and urging women to find their destiny. Her articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Hill, the Austin American-Statesman, the San Antonio Express-News, the Houston Chronicle, among others.
Combs is the manager and owner of a more than 140-year-old family ranching, hunting and grazing management operation in West Texas. She and her husband have three sons and four grandchildren.