O'Malley said she not only brought her "network" but also an ability to bridge various interests, such as suburbanites and city dwellers, and labor groups and environmentalists. "She was willing to work hard and make the necessary calls," he said, referring to the conversations with donors and activists required of the party's figurehead, a volunteer job.
Turnbull, a businesswoman and mother of two grown sons, keeps a hectic schedule. The 56-year-old has been to all corners of the state in recent months, to a dinner on the Eastern Shore and summit in Western Maryland, while also traveling for her job as an independent consultant for members of Congress.
Born in Cleveland, Turnbull grew up in a modest household; her father drove a cab and her mother worked in a department store. When she took a school field trip to Washington, she resolved to live there, and after graduating from the University of Cincinnati, she headed to the University of Maryland for graduate study in political science.
She cut her political teeth as an intern at Cincinnati City Hall with then-Councilman Jerry Springer - yes, the very one who became a trash-talking talk-show host; she has the recommendation letter to prove it. She also worked on Cleveland native Howard Metzenbaum's failed campaign for U.S. Senate in the early 1970s. He was later appointed to replace Sen. William Saxbe, who became U.S. attorney general in the midst of the Watergate scandal.
Metzenbaum hired Turnbull and her husband-to-be, Bruce, now an intellectual property and international trade attorney in Washington. In jest, she thanks President Richard M. Nixon for that particular turn in her life.
After working with Metzenbaum and as a lobbyist, Turnbull started a political fundraising business, relying on index cards of donors and comparing printouts of contributions. "I discovered it was like putting pieces of a puzzle together," she said.
Now she's asked to speak to groups about working a room and dispenses networking tips, such as pairing business cards with name tags so that you can identify later where you met someone. Her Rolodex contains "thousands" of names, and she has shoe boxes full of business cards and 1,200 friends on Facebook.
"It's not that she comes into a room and takes charge of the whole event; that's not her style," said Aryeh Furst, executive vice president at Hillel International. "She has a compelling story with a compelling message that resonates."
