The 33rd Director of the Mint, Donna Pope served from 1981-1991. A member of the Ohio State House of Representatives before being nominated for director by Ronald Reagan. She was only the woman Mint Director, and served for the fifth-longest amount of time. Reagan's spending reductions slashed the Mint's budget during Pope's first few years, and she was forced to shutter some of the Department's facilities. Being a numismatist herself, she knew that creating a series of commemorative coins could raise funds for the Mint to counteract some of her funding shortfalls. She also helped usher in the successful American Silver Eagle program.