Sekula-Gibbs, Shelley, 1953-

<p>In 2006 Shelley Sekula Gibbs, a physician and Houston city councilwoman, won election to the U.S. House of Representatives after running a last-minute campaign to f ill the vacancy created by the sudden resignation of House Majority Leader Thomas Dale DeLay. Sekula Gibbs’s seven-week term to finish out the 109th Congress (2005–2007) is one of the shortest periods of service of any Congresswoman in House history. Her medical training played a large role in her priorities in Congress. “Being a physician, I have very big concerns about [health care],” she declared on the House Floor.</p>

<p>Shelley Sekula Gibbs was born Shelley Sekula in Floresville, Texas, on June 22, 1953, to Henry Sekula, an oil field worker, and Mary Sekula. She graduated from Floresville High School in 1971 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio in 1975. Four years later, she completed medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. After residencies in family medicine and dermatology, she practiced medicine for more than 20 years. She served as president of the Texas Dermatological Society and taught as a clinical assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical Branch. She married Allen Greenberg, who died suddenly in a drowning accident. She later married Sylvan Rodriguez, a local television newscaster, who died of cancer in 2000. She then married Robert Gibbs, an attorney. She has three children: Mallory, Michael, and Elyse.</p>

<p>In 2001 Sekula Gibbs was elected as an at-large member of the Houston city council. During her three terms on the council, she focused on health care, working to bring federal money to the city for clinics dedicated to assisting Houston’s uninsured residents. She also was a cofounder of the Ellington Field task force, which successfully fought to keep open the city’s major military air base.</p>

<p>Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (born June 22, 1953) is an American physician and politician, who serves as a director of The Woodlands, Texas Township board of directors. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district in 2006. A Republican, she won the special election to fill the seat for the last few weeks of the 109th United States Congress. She previously served as a city councilwoman in Houston, Texas from 2002 to 2006.</p>

<p>Sekula-Gibbs was born to parents of Czech, German and Polish ancestry. Sekula-Gibbs graduated from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas with summa cum laude honors and a degree in chemistry. She later earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, and went on to residencies at the University of Florida in family practice, and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, specializing in dermatology.</p>

<p>Before entering politics, Sekula-Gibbs operated her own dermatology practice in the Clear Lake area of Houston. Sekula-Gibbs teaches at Ben Taub Hospital and serves as a clinical assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine, both in the Texas Medical Center.</p>