Texas Tenacity: A Call for Women to Direct Their Destiny

Susan Combs double-dog dares you to be the person you want to be
Susan Combs has pretty much been, been through, or done it all. She reassures us that ups and downs are normal in life because she s lived through her share. She s experienced domestic abuse, fought for children s rights, pounded tough pavements running for office, and won and lost battles in the bruising world of politics. She has taken her life experiences and from them, willed who she wanted to be.
Feisty, intelligent, and honest, Texas Tenacity encourages women and girls to seize opportunities wherever they find them and to hold on to their identities with everything they ve got. Everyone women and men alike will find something to relate to and laugh out loud about in these rich stories of an uncommon life and the lessons learned on the way."

Susan Combs has spent her adult life blazing trails previously little traveled by women. With a matter-of-fact nature shaped by time on her family s Texas ranch, Susan tackled her years at the all-female Vassar College in a decidedly straightforward fashion. Upon graduation, she worked in high-pressure environments in New York specifically in international advertising on Wall Street and for a large federal agency, creating a record of success. In time, she followed her heart back to Texas and law school, and then embarked on a career as a prosecutor focused on securing justice for victims of child abuse.

At a friend s urging, she ran for and won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives where she continued her advocacy for Texas children and mastering the budgeting process. She was also running a cow-calf operation on her family s century-old ranch in the Big Bend at the same time. Heeding the call to higher office, she was elected the first woman Agriculture Commissioner in Texas history and won praise for her efforts to improve nutrition for Texas schoolchildren. She was then elected State Comptroller, where she applied laser focus to keep Texas finances in line, meticulously collecting taxes and paying bills. She advocated tirelessly for greater transparency to ensure the most honest government possible for her fellow Texans.

Since leaving elected office, Susan has been working on HERdacity, an online empowerment community for women, designed to help them stay connected as they blaze their own trails in business, at home and in the fields of their choosing.