Barbara Friers Olschner (born March 29, 1951) is a published author, speaker, lawyer and politician. Olshner ran for Congress as a moderate Republican in Florida's 2nd congressional district in 2010. In 2013, she published a book titled, ''The Reluctant Republican: My Fight for the Moderate Majority'', released by the

University Press of Florida The University Press of Florida (UPF) is the scholarly publishing arm of the State University System of Florida, representing Florida's twelve state universities. It is located in Gainesville near the University of Florida, one of the state's maj ...

, which is a non-fiction account of the 2010 race. The book received a lot of praise from the general public on her attempt to address

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...

. She was also the founder and owner of the law firm ''Olschner & Hart'' in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, and now practices law in

Fairhope, Alabama Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The population was 22,477 at the 2020 census. Fairhope is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area, which in ...

. Olschner has over twenty-five years of

litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...

experience. She is also the founder of the non-profit organization, ''Purple Moderates'', which was established to "educate, inform and support" a moderate platform in politics.

Early life

Olschner is a native of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

who moved to

, to practice law. After 30 years, she moved to

Walton County, Florida Walton County is a County (United States), county located on the Emerald Coast in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida, with its southern border on the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the populat ...

, where she currently resides. She holds a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Creative Arts from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and received her law degree from

Cumberland School of Law The Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA-accredited law school at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law sch ...

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

in Birmingham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olschner, Barbara 1951 births American women lawyers Alabama lawyers University of North Carolina alumni Cumberland School of Law alumni Florida Republicans Living people Lawyers from Nashville, Tennessee American bloggers American women bloggers 21st-century American women