Sarah Hazen Stitt is an American businesswoman who has served as the

First Lady of Oklahoma First Lady or First Gentleman of Oklahoma is the title held by the spouse of the sitting governor of Oklahoma. The first lady or first gentleman serves as the official host of the Oklahoma Governor's Mansion. As of 2019, there have been 26 first ...

since 2019.

Early life and career

Sarah Hazen grew up in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

and was

homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

until she was a teenager when she first attended

public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...

. Growing up, her mother suffered from mental health problems, but refused treatment due to social stigmas. Her mother attempted suicide and her siblings had drug addictions. Her father also developed mental health problems during this time. Sarah cites her childhood experience as motivation for her mental health advocacy. She founded Gateway Mortgage, alongside her husband, Kevin Stitt, and worked there for twenty years.

First Lady of Oklahoma

Sarah Stitt became the

when her husband

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2018, defeating Democrat and former state Attorney Ge ...

was sworn in

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

on January 14, 2019. She was credited with improving her husband's approval with women voters during his 2018 election campaign. During her tenure, she has focused on mental health. In 2020, she led a fundraising campaign for a non-profit that focuses on preventing

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

. Later that year she assisted with the restoration of the ''Book of Redemption'' for

Vernon A.M.E. Church Vernon may refer to: Places Australia *Vernon County, New South Wales Canada *Vernon, British Columbia, a city *Vernon, Ontario France * Vernon, Ardèche *Vernon, Eure United States * Vernon, Alabama * Vernon, Arizona * Vernon, California * ...

Sarah Stitt Act

In 2021, Oklahoma HB 1679 was named the "Sarah Stitt Act" after the first lady. The bill provided state

identification documents An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...

to prison inmates that do not have one. The bill was sponsored by Representatives Brian Hill and

Marilyn Stark Marilyn Stark (born January 29, 1957) is an American politician who has served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members i ...

. In the first year after its passage, the

Oklahoma Department of Corrections The Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC or ODOC) is an government agency, agency of the state of Oklahoma. DOC is responsible for the administration of the List of Oklahoma state prisons, state prison system. It has its headquarters in Oklaho ...

found more than 1,300 birth certificates for inmates.

Personal life

Sarah met

in the summer of 1997 at a church service. The couple married on June 1, 1998. They have six children. She is a member of the Republican Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stitt, Sarah Hazen First ladies and gentlemen of Oklahoma Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women