View source for Mary Ellen Withrow

{{Short description|40th Treasurer of the United States}}
{{BLP sources|date=July 2009}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Mary Ellen Withrow
| image               = Mary Ellen Withrow.jpg
| imagesize           = 220px
| order               = 40th
| title               = [[Treasurer of the United States]]
| term_start          = March 1, 1994
| term_end            = January 20, 2001
| predecessor         = [[Catalina Vasquez Villalpando|Catalina V. Villalpando]]
| successor           = [[Rosario Marin]]
| president           = [[Bill Clinton]]
| order2              = 
| title2              = [[Ohio State Treasurer|Treasurer of Ohio]]
| governor2           = [[Dick Celeste]]<br>[[George Voinovich]]
| term_start2         = January 10, 1983
| term_end2           = March 1, 1994
| president2          = 
| predecessor2        = [[Gertrude Walton Donahey|Gertrude Donahey]]
| successor2          = [[Ken Blackwell]]
| order3              = 
| title3              = [[Marion County, Ohio|Marion County Treasurer]]
| term_start3         = January 10, 1977
| term_end3           = January 10, 1983
| president3          = 
| predecessor3        = Ralph Wagner
| successor3          = Michelle Pearson
| order4              = 
| title4              = 
| term_start4         = 
| term_end4           = 
| president4          = 
| predecessor4        = 
| successor4          = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1930|10|2}}
| birth_place         = [[Marion County, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = 
| profession          = 
| religion            = 
| nationality         = American
| signature           = Mary Ellen Withrow sig.jpg
}}
'''Mary Ellen Hinamon Withrow''' (born October 2, 1930) is an American activist and former politician who served as the 40th [[treasurer of the United States]] from March 1, 1994 to  January 20, 2001 under President [[Bill Clinton]].

She also was Treasurer when the [[U.S. five dollar bill|$5]], [[U.S. ten dollar bill|$10]], [[U.S. twenty dollar bill|$20]], [[U.S. fifty dollar bill|$50]], and [[U.S. hundred dollar bill|$100]] notes were redesigned in the 1990s.

== Biography ==
A native of [[Marion County, Ohio]], Withrow served as the [[Ohio State Treasurer|treasurer]] of her home state of [[Ohio]], a position to which she was elected in 1982, 1986, and 1990.  Before that, she was elected Treasurer of her native [[Marion County, Ohio]] in 1976 and 1980. This makes her the only person to have held the post of treasurer at all three levels of government &mdash; local, state and national.<ref>[http://www.ustreas.gov/education/history/treasurers/mewithrow.html U.S. Treasury Biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040405195457/http://www.ustreas.gov/education/history/treasurers/mewithrow.html |date=2004-04-05 }}</ref>

Withrow began her career in public service in 1969 as the first woman elected to the Elgin Local School Board in Marion County. As Ohio's Treasurer, Withrow instituted new programs, achieved record earnings, and was nationally recognized for her efficient management. Withrow was a [[U.S. Electoral College|Presidential Elector]] for Ohio in 1992 and a delegate to the [[2000 Democratic National Convention]] from Ohio. She again served as a member of the Ohio delegation at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]].

==Recognition==
[[File:Secretary of Treasury Lawrence H. Summers signs his name for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.jpg|thumb|left| Withrow and other Treasury officials watch Secretary Summers affix his signature to new currency, 1999]]
Withrow is the recipient of numerous honors, including the '''Donald L. Scantlebury Memorial Award''' from the Treasury's Joint Financial Management Improvement Program for financial excellence and improvement in government, and the nation's "Most Valuable State Public Official" by [[City & State Newspaper]] in 1990.

She has been the president of several Treasury-related associations, including the National Association of State Treasurers, and the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers.

==Activism==
Withrow is an activist for [[women in government]] and is a member of the board of directors of [[Women Executives in State Government]], an inductee into the [[Ohio Women's Hall of Fame]] and a recipient of a Women Executives in State Government fellowship to [[Harvard University]]. Following her retirement from office in January 2001, Withrow became active in the US Treasury's historical society. Withrow's collection of personal documents, photographs, awards and personal papers are housed at the [[Marion County Historical Society]], [[Marion, Ohio]].  She has appeared in television ads supporting Ohio's Issue 3 casino proposal. She is also quoted extensively in newspaper advertisements and direct mailings of by Federated Mint LLC and Lincoln Treasury. These advertisements use her former title to give legitimacy to questionable items.

==Legacy==
[[Marion City School District|Marion City Schools]] announced in September 2019 that it would be naming two new schools after Withrow - Mary Ellen Withrow Middle School Academy and the Mary Ellen Withrow High School Academy.<ref>[https://www.marionstar.com/story/news/2019/09/04/marion-city-names-schools-honor-withrow/2201081001/ Marion City Schools names schools in honor of Withrow] Retrieved September 7, 2019</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{C-SPAN|2968}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Gertrude Walton Donahey]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Ohio State Treasurer|Treasurer of Ohio]]|years=1982, 1986, 1990}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Barbara Sykes (politician)|Barbara Sykes]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Gertrude W. Donahey]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ohio State Treasurer|Treasurer of Ohio]]|years=1983–1994}}
{{s-aft|after=[[J. Kenneth Blackwell]]}}
{{succession box
|before=[[Catalina Vásquez Villalpando]]
|after=[[Rosario Marin]]
|title=[[Treasurer of the United States]]
|years=1994–2001
}}
{{s-end}}
<br/>
{{OhioTreasurers}}
{{USTreasurers}}
{{Ohio Women's Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Withrow, Mary Ellen}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Harvard University fellows]]
[[Category:People from Marion, Ohio]]
[[Category:State treasurers of Ohio]]
[[Category:Treasurers of the United States]]
[[Category:1992 United States presidential electors]]
[[Category:Women in Ohio politics]]
[[Category:County officials in Ohio]]
[[Category:Ohio Democrats]]
[[Category:Clinton administration personnel]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]