SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – USD Knudson School of Law and South Dakota native, Jackie Barber, has been appointed as Secretary of the U.S. Senate by Republican Sen. John Thune.
Barber, from Onida, South Dakota, previously served as the director for the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration since 2023. She also served as chief counsel for the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition & Forestry and House Agriculture Committee.
Thune introduced a resolution Jan. 3 to appoint Barber to the position. The Senate agreed to the resolution without any amendments by unanimous consent.
As secretary, Barber will keep the legislative records of the Senate, including minutes of proceedings, calendars of business, debates, nominations, bills and amendments. The secretary is also responsible for the records of senators’ elections and for receiving and transmitting official messages to and from the president and the House of Representatives.
Barber graduated from the University of South Dakota with a business administration degree in 2001. In 2006, she received a Juris Doctor from USD’s Knudson School of Law.
“Jackie Barber’s appointment as secretary of the Senate is a testament to her hard work, ability and dedication to the law and public service,” said USD Knudson School of Law Dean Neil Fulton.
Barber will be the eighth woman and second person from South Dakota to hold the position. Nancy Erickson was the secretary of the senate from 2007-2015 and graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls
The former secretary, Sonceria Ann Berry, served from March 2021 to Jan. 2025. She was the first African American to serve in the position.
