Sel Yackley

• Born and raised in Turkey, she came to West Phoenix High School, Arizona, American Field Service (AFS), as an exchange student in 1956.
• Back in Ankara, she worked for TUSLOG (the U.S. Logistics Group).
• She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from ASU in 1962.
• While at ASU, she joined a sorority, was elected to the student senate, and, later became Secretary of the Associated Students. (In 1962, I was named Panhellenic Woman of the year).
• Ten years later she was given an ASU Alumni of the Year award along with two older male alumni.  
• She received a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 1963, resulting in an award-winning career at UPI and the Chicago Tribune.
• Her marriage to a fellow journalist who became a lawyer, prosecutor, and a judge in rural central Illinois enabled her to become a big fish in a small pond.
• She and her husband raised three children. She opened a public relations agency; taught classes at Illinois Valley Community College (IVCC); served as president of several nonprofit organizations; got elected to the IVCC board of trustees in a seven county-wide election; was honored as one of 10 Outstanding Young Persons by Illinois Jaycees; was named Women of the Year by Business and Professional Women of Ottawa, Illinois.
• Several years after she became a widow, she moved back to Chicago and continued her active lifestyle, serving on several boards. She worked as a travel agent for a dozen years and managed Picasso Travel until her retirement, which enabled her to write her award-winning memoir Never Regret the Pain: Loving and Losing A Bipolar Spouse.