Burgess, Isabel A., 1912-

Isabel Anderson Burgess was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 3, 1912 to William Anderson and Alice Ball Anderson. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, she attended one year of college at Ohio and Mills College in Oakland, California and one year at Western Reserve University in Cleveland where her major was art history. In 1939, Isabel married Richard Burgess a certified public accountant and managing partner of Alexander Grant Company. They had three children, Richard B. Burgess, Jr., Thomas H. Burgess and Susan Burgess Cordson. They divorced in 1967.

Art and public service were abiding interests throughout her life. In Ohio, she was active in the League of Women Voters and became a local chapter president. After the Burgess family relocated to Phoenix in 1948, she served as LWV secretary and president of the Visiting Nurses Services auxiliary. She also volunteered at the Heard Museum where she was elected Secretary to the Board of Directors. Isabel's love for art and culture lead to her involvement in other arts organizations. She was a founder of the Phoenix Arts Council, a member of the Phoenix Art Museum and a charter member of the Phoenix Symphony Guild.

Isabel also became active in Republican politics and began a Republican Party Group within her district. This was a time of increased activism and influence of the Republican Party in the state. She became well known in Republican circles and was encouraged to run for the Arizona State Legislature in 1952. She was elected to the Arizona House of Representative where she served five successive terms. During the 10 years in the Arizona House of Representatives she served as Chairman of the Highways and Transportation Committee and as Chairman of the Joint Senate and House Interim Transportation Committee. These committees introduced her to the inner workings and technical aspects of the State Highway Department, Arizona Highway Patrol, railroad systems, interstate trucking, airport operators and civil and military aviation. Isabel Burgess also served on the Board of Governors for the Council of State Governments and was a member of the National Legislative Transportation Committee.

In 1966, she became the first Republican woman elected to the Arizona State Senate. During her tenure, Isabel was Chairman of the Arizona State Senate Highway and Transportation Committee. As chairman she oversaw all aspects of transportation within Arizona including highway construction and design, highway patrol, highway safety programs standards, truck bus and rail transportation and airport design.

In 1969, Isabel Burgess was nominated by President Richard Nixon to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). At the time, there was considerable interest in nominating politicians and civil servants from varied backgrounds for federal appointments. Her record as chairman of the National Legislative Transportation Committee and the fact that she was a woman made her an ideal candidate. She attributed her successful appointment to the support of Senator Barry M. Goldwater and Representative John Rhodes.

As a member of the NTSB, Isabel Burgess was involved in many on-the-scene accident investigations and chaired several public hearings related to transportation accidents. These ranged from bus accidents and aviation crashes to vehicular collisions and car gas tank explosions. Overall, she conducted 17 investigations and was involved in 12 hearings. As a member of NTSB she traveled extensively both within the United States and abroad delivering speeches advocating transportation safety issues at numerous conferences sponsored by transportation companies, industry associations, and transportation specialists.

Each member of NTSB had an area of specialized interest. Mrs. Burgess worked primarily with aircraft cabin safety, security of galleys and galley equipment, proper jumpseats, improvement of interior emergency lighting materials and evacuation slides. She was named "Outstanding Woman in the Field of Life Support" in 1971 by the Survival and Flight Equipment Association. She was also awarded honorary membership in the Flight Attendants Association in 1972. Mrs. Burgess was seen by many members of the flight industry as being an advocate for transportation safety which is clearly documented in her correspondence. For additional related materials, view the McDermott Library General Aviation collection at the University of Texas at Dallas. (http://www.utdallas.edu/library/uniquecoll/speccoll/hacpdf.htm)

Following her appointment to the NTSB, Mrs. Burgess worked as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Energy and Minerals within the Department of Interior from 1976 to 1977. She was responsible for developing and coordinating the Task Force on Availability of Federally Owned Mineral Land established by the Secretary of the Interior.

Mrs. Burgess retired from public service in January of 1977. She died September 17, 1999 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

From the description of Isabel Burgess collection, 1900-1999 [manuscript]. (Scottsdale Public Library). WorldCat record id: 503105436

Isabel Anderson was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 3, 1912 to William and Alice Ball Anderson. She attended one year of college at Ohio and Mills College in Oakland, California and one year at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where she majored in art history. Isabel Anderson married Richard Burgess, a certified public accountant and managing partner of Alexander Grant Company, in 1939. They had three children, Richard B. Burgess, Jr., Thomas H. Burgess, and Susan (Burgess) Cordson. Richard and Isabel Burgess divorced in 1967.

In Ohio, Burgess was active in the League of Women Voters and became a local chapter president. After the Burgess family relocated to Phoenix in 1948, she served as LWV secretary and as president of the Visiting Nurses Services auxiliary. She also volunteered at the Heard Museum, where she was elected Secretary to the Board of Directors, helped to found the Phoenix Arts Council, and served as a member of the Phoenix Art Museum and as a charter member of the Phoenix Symphony Guild.

Burgess also became active in Republican politics and started a Republican Party Group in her district. She became well known in Republican circles and was encouraged to run for the Arizona State Legislature in 1952. She was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives, where she served five successive terms. During her tenure, she served as Chairman of the Highways and Transportation Committee and as Chairman of the Joint Senate and House Interim Transportation Committee. These committees introduced her to the inner workings and technical aspects of the State Highway Department, the Arizona Highway Patrol, railroad systems, interstate trucking, airport operators, and civil and military aviation. Burgess also served on the Board of Governors for the Council of State Governments and was a member of the National Legislative Transportation Committee.

In 1966, Burgess became the first Republican woman elected to the Arizona State Senate. During her tenure, Burgess served as Chairman of the Arizona State Senate Highway and Transportation Committee. As chairman, she oversaw all aspects of transportation in Arizona including highway construction and design, highway patrol, highway safety programs standards, truck, bus, and rail transportation, and airport design. In 1969, President Richard Nixon nominated Burgess to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). At the time, there was considerable interest in nominating politicians and civil servants from varied backgrounds for federal positions. Burgess's record as chairman of the National Legislative Transportation Committee and the fact that she was a woman made her an ideal candidate. She attributed her successful appointment to the support of Senator Barry M. Goldwater and Representative John Rhodes.

As a member of the NTSB, Isabel Burgess was involved in many on-the-scene accident investigations and chaired several public hearings related to transportation accidents. These incidents ranged from bus accidents and aviation crashes to vehicular collisions and car gas tank explosions. Overall, she conducted 17 investigations and was involved in 12 hearings. As a member of NTSB she traveled extensively both within the United States and abroad, delivering speeches addressing transportation safety issues at numerous conferences sponsored by transportation companies, industry associations, and transportation specialists.

Each member of NTSB had an area of specialized interest. Burgess worked primarily with aircraft cabin safety, security of galleys and galley equipment, proper jumpseats, improvement of interior emergency lighting materials, and evacuation slides. She was named Outstanding Woman in the Field of Life Support in 1971 by the Survival and Flight Equipment Association. She was also awarded honorary membership in the Flight Attendants Association in 1972. Burgess was seen by many members of the flight industry as an advocate for transportation safety.

Following her appointment to the NTSB, Burgess worked as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Energy and Minerals in the Department of Interior from 1976 to 1977. She was responsible for developing and coordinating the Task Force on Availability of Federally Owned Mineral Land established by the Secretary of the Interior. Burgess retired from public service in January of 1977 and died on September 17, 1999 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

From the guide to the Isabel Burgess Papers, 1900-1999, (Arizona State University Libraries Arizona Collection)