JANE TOOLEY
Jane Tooley never was one to take the road less traveled. Fitting, perhaps, given her history with the Nebraska State Patrol. A 1969 UNO graduate, Tooley in 1977 became the first woman admitted to the Nebraska State Patrol recruit camp, competing with 30 men. She graduated to become the organization’s first female trooper. Tooley became a criminal investigator in 1981 then worked undercover as a drug investigator. She served six years providing executive protection for Governors Kay Orr and Ben Nelson. She made history again in 1984 as the first woman promoted to sergeant and in 1994 when she became its first female lieutenant. She retired in 2001.