Kirsten Gillibrand

Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand is an American lawyer and politician. She has been serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. Gillibrand is a member of the Democratic Party and previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009. Born and raised in upstate New York, she graduated from Dartmouth College and the UCLA School of Law. Gillibrand's political career began after working on Hillary Clinton's 2000 U.S. Senate campaign. She was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2006, representing New York's 20th congressional district. Known as a Blue Dog Democrat, Gillibrand voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. After Clinton became U.S. Secretary of State in 2009, Gillibrand was appointed by Governor David Paterson to fill the Senate seat vacated by Clinton, becoming New York's second female senator.