Mary Lou Makepeace

Mary Lou Makepeace (born April 30, 1940) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado from 1997 to 2003. She was the first woman to hold that position.

Early life and education Born Mary Louise Pfahl, she received a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science from the University of North Dakota and attended the Harvard University Program for State & Local Government. She earned a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in 1979.

Career

Early career She taught at the American School in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and was appointed Assistant to the Defense Attaché at the American Embassy in Prague, Czechoslovakia, following the 1968 Soviet invasion. She later served as adult education officer at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Makepeace moved to Colorado Springs in 1973, where she worked as a caseworker, and later administrator, for the El Paso County Department of Social Services between 1974 and 1982, working on child abuse cases. by 25%. She was re-elected in 1999, defeating Republican Will Perkins, who opposed the zero-tolerance discrimination policy passed by the city in 1997.

As mayor in a Council-Manager form of government, she led a 9-member city council, served as chairman of the board of Colorado Springs Utilities and provided oversight to the city owned Memorial Hospital. Makepeace was known for her open leadership, unifying a once-fractious Council and gained voter approval for significant improvements, notably America the Beautiful Park.

She appointed the city's first female municipal judges and initiated the successful Springs Community Action Program (SCIP) engaging hundreds of citizens in prioritizing capital improvements needs in the city, which resulted in citizen approval of the largest bond issue in the city's history up to then.

She currently is on the faculty of the political science department at UCCS.

Makepeace has served on a variety of state, local and national committees including the Board of Governors of Colorado State University, the Colorado Space Advisory Committee, the Policy Advisory Council of the America Power Association, and the Energy Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. She is a founding board member of Artemis Women and the Women's Chamber of Southern Colorado.

She was inducted to the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2008. Other recognitions include the Athena Award, Colorado College Community Diversity Award, Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Woman in Business, Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Community Service Award, the Mary Jean Larson Community Service Award, and numerous others.

Awards 2009: Colorado College, Community Diversity Award 2008: Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee 2007: Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce: ATHENA Award 2006: Denver Business Journal: Outstanding Woman in Business, “Nonprofits and Public Entities” sector

Articles The Gazette: Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace was a Downtown Colorado Springs Champion, Dec. 18, 2013 CausePlanet.org: Altering the Course of History: Collaborations Make Good, Sept. 5, 2008 Colorado Springs Business Journal: Bringing an End to Discrimination: Good for Business, June 13, 2008. CausePlanet.org: Advancing equality: From the Lobby to the Legal Ease, Your Work Environment Says a Lot, October 15, 2007. CausePlanet.org: Collaborate and improvise for organizational change, July 17, 2007. CausePlanet.org: Looking at Diversity in a New Way, April 2, 2007. Denver Business Journal: Advancing Latino Education is Good for Business, January 5, 2007. Denver Business Journal: Arts and Cultural Events Can Help Drive Your Business Success, July 7, 2006. Denver Business Journal: Strategies and Business-Like Approaches Help with Fundraising, October 14, 2005.

Electoral history