Kirsten grew up in Upstate New York in a family with a tradition of public service. She learned about campaigning and organizing from her political powerhouse grandmother, and her mother’s legal work taught her the importance of advocating for communities who are too often overlooked. Kirsten followed their lead, first working as a lawyer, then finding her own path to public service. Her own path of public service has included the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Congress before becaming a senator in 2009. When she became a senator in 2009, she drew on her mother’s commitment to raising the voices of those who most need advocates and gained a reputation for taking on the toughest fights in Washington.
Kirsten is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the UCLA School of Law. Her home is in Albany, New York, where she grew up. She and her husband Jonathan have two boys, Theo and Henry, and a labradoodle, Maple.
Accomplishments
- Passed the historic 9/11 health bill, which created the federal World Trade Center Health Program to ensure first responders and 9/11 survivors receive the health care they deserve.
- Passed major legislation to make sure veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxins get the health care they earned and deserve.
- Passed the Main Street Employee Ownership Act, which made it easier for small businesses that want to stay in their communities to become employee-owned co-ops.
- Leading the fight to protect drinking water in New York from toxic PFAS pollution and to hold polluters accountable.
- Successfully reformed the military justice system to make it more professional and fair after a nearly decade-long fight.
- Working to bolster the Department of Defense’s cybersecurity capabilities through her Cyber Academy scholarship program.
- Introduced the Strategic Plan for Aging Act, a landmark bill that would provide states with resources to help older Americans navigate everything from housing to food insecurity.
- Passed the first-ever law to make gun trafficking a federal crime after a more than decade-long fight.
- Authored the STOCK Act to ban members of Congress and their families from insider trading.
Committees
- Senior member of the Armed Services Committee
- Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
- Longtime member of the Senate Agriculture Committee
- Serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Aging Committee.