Jeanette Mott Oxford grew up during the 1950's in Elizabethtown, Illinois, the daughter of Raymond and Marie Oxford. She received a B.A. in Religious Studies from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 1986 and a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary in 1989. Dedicated to fighting issues of injustice and inequality, she worked with the anti-poverty group The Southern Counties Action Committee, where she met her partner, Dorothy. From 1991-2000, she served as executive director of the Reform Organization of Welfare (ROWEL), a statewide anti-poverty organization. She first ran for the state legislature in 2000, losing a primary race to fill the state representative position vacated by Ron Auer. She ran again in 2004 and won a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives representing the 59th district. With this victory, she became the first openly lesbian representative in the Missouri State Legislature. She won re-election in 2006, 2008, and 2010, before resigning due to term limits. She then became the Executive Director of Empower Missouri (formerly Missouri Association for Social Welfare).