Patricia “Pat” Peters is the Governor for Rotary District 5790 for the 2023-24 year. Pat, an Austin, Texas native, has lived in Denton since 1981. After receiving a scholarship from the Rotary Club of Austin, she earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Southwestern University. Pat also holds Master’s degrees in English Literature and Library Science, both from the University of North Texas. She has had a 25-plus year career in libraries, including stints at Lewisville and Decatur Public Libraries.

Pat is a member of the Rotary Club of Decatur, having served in many roles since joining in 2013, including club president in 2015-16. At the District level, Pat has been a RYLA counselor, District Literacy Coordinator, Assistant Governor, charter member of the Visioning/Planning Team, District Secretary, and Lone Star PETS facilitator. Pat is a Paul Harris Society member and a Rotary Leadership Institute facilitator.

Pat is married to Jeff, a musician and retired IT guy who is also a member of Decatur Rotary. They have two adult children: Kerri, a high school theater teacher, and Chris, an actuary. Long-time members of First United Methodist Church of Denton, Jeff and Pat sing in the choir and Pat is the church librarian. She occasionally also does the children’s sermon and tells stories for Vacation Bible School.

For the 2023-24 Rotary year, Pat’s priorities are:

• Peace initiatives—whether that is supporting Peace Fellow programs, sending aid to areas in need around the globe, planting peace poles and peace gardens, or simply learning to manage conflict in our individual lives;
• Mental health awareness—RI President Gordon McInally’s focus on supporting mental health and taking the stigma out of talking about our mental health issues;
• Education and literacy—dictionary projects, book drives, technology literacy, and so much more are at the heart of what we do as Rotarians; and
• Empowering girls and women—a continuation of Past RI President Shekhar Mehta’s initiative, this continues to be a priority for Rotary International and for our district.