semesters majoring in history and then attended the University of Cincinnati in the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. Early career Prior to serving in elective office, Roxanne was the first Director of the Northern Kentucky Rape Crisis Center (1975–1977, now known as the Women's Crisis Center, Kentucky), the Executive Director of Women Helping Women (1977–1979, now known as the Hamilton County Rape Crisis and Abuse Center), owned a small business specializing in house painting and renovation, and served as an Associate Director (1983–1985) and then Director (1985–1991) of the Cincinnati office of Ohio Citizen Action (formerly known as Ohio Public Interest Campaign). While director of Ohio Citizen Action's Cincinnati office, Roxanne worked with neighborhood groups and environmental organizations to pass the City of Cincinnati's air code, lobbied the city to establish the Office of Environmental Management, and advocated for the establishment of the city's recycling program. Her office released an annual analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory. She served as a member of the Lower Price Hill Task Force, a collaborative effort to target the environmental causes of Lower Price Hill children's health problems. Cincinnati City Council, 1991–1993 Roxanne Qualls first ran for the nine-member at-large Cincinnati City Council in 1987. She placed 14th. She ran again in 1989 and placed 10th. She was elected in 1991. In her first term on council, Roxanne served as chair of the Intergovernmental Affairs and Environment Committee. She promoted employee health and safety, successfully advocating that the city adopt Occupational Health and Safety Administration standards for city workers and develop an effective loss prevention program. She led the city's planning efforts to develop a long-term transportation policy that included mass transit. She worked to establish the Toxic Sweep program that trained city inspectors to recognize threats from hazardous and toxic waste. In addition, she emphasized increased cooperation between the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and organized regular meeting between her committee and the County Commission on issues of shared concern. Mayor of Cincinnati, 1993–1999 In 1993, Roxanne became Mayor of the City of Cincinnati by achieving the highest number of votes of any council member. Cincinnati's voters returned her to the Mayor's office in 1995 and in 1997 where she served until term limits forced her out of office. As Mayor, Roxanne emphasized openness and accessibility, collaborative public-private partnerships,