A retired public school teacher and a true trail blazer, State Senator Earline Rogers is widely recognized as one of the Indiana General Assembly's most effective leaders.

Prior to her election to the State Senate, Rogers served eight years in the House of Representatives and two years on the Gary Common Council, where she was the first woman elected president.

Among her many legislative accomplishments, Rogers was instrumental in raising the minimum age to which the death penalty can be applied in Indiana to 18 years of age. She filed the first bill to create casino gaming in Indiana and co-authored riverboat gaming legislation, which has become a billion dollar industry for Indiana. Most recently she was a leader in the passage and implementation of the legislation creating the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.

Rogers has also been at the forefront of major education reform, including the A-Plus education reform package, the implementation of ISTEP, the state's tough school accountability law as well as legislation to create charter schools.

A life-long resident of Gary, Rogers spent 38 years teaching in the Gary Public School system and today works as an education consultant. She was an honor student at Roosevelt High School and senior class president. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Senator Rogers and her husband Louis, a retired firefighter, reside in Gary and have two grown children.