About Rebecca
Rebecca McClanahan has dedicated her life to serving others. As a nurse and educator in Kirksville for over 30 years, Rebecca trained hundreds of nurses for Missouri’s hospitals. After witnessing the deep cuts to healthcare and higher education in Missouri, Rebecca decided to run for office, and in 2006 she was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives.
She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Truman State University (then Northeast Missouri State University) in 1975. She received her Masters Degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1982 with a specialty in Community Mental Health Nursing, and went on to achieve Doctoral Candidacy status at the University of Kansas.
Serving on the faculty of the Nursing Program at Truman State University for more than 30 years, Representative McClanahan was nominated for numerous awards for excellence in teaching, advising, and leadership. She also advocated on a state and national level for solutions to the growing shortage of nurses, and served as vice president of the Missouri Nurses Association.
Representative McClanahan is nearing completion of her fourth year in the Missouri House of Representatives. She is one of only two nurses currently serving in the Missouri legislature and the third nurse ever to serve in the history of the State of Missouri. She has worked extensively on healthcare, higher education, and agriculture policy, and has developed a reputation as a leader and advocate in the Capitol. In her second year she was chosen to serve on the state budget conference committee, an honor that is not normally given to first-term legislators. This year she serves on four committees: budget, higher education, agriculture policy, and appropriations for health, mental health, and social services.
Rebecca and her husband Marvin have been married for more than 30 years. Together they served as foster parents and adopted their first child. They have two sons, Andrew, married to Astrid, and Bryan. Rebecca and Marvin enjoy singing gospel music duets.
