Category: U.S. Representative

Bella Abzug
Bella Abzug


Bella Abzug served as a United States representative from 1971-1977, representing New York's 19th district (1971-1973) and New York's 20th district (1973-1977). Abzug was born July 24, 1920, and grew up in New York's Bronx neighborhood. She received an A.B. from Hunter College in 1942 and then entered Columbia University Law School. She practiced law for 25 years, working on labor and tenants' rights, civil rights and liberties cases. In the 1960's, Abzug cofounded Women Strike for Peace, a group that protested the nuclear arms race and later the American […]
Alma Adams
Alma Adams


Alma Adams assumed office in the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolina's 12 District on November 12, 2014, after winning a special election. She won election to a full two-year term at the same time. Adams was born on May 27, 1946, in High Point, North Carolina. She received her B.S. degree in 1968 and her M.S. degree in 1972, both from North Carolina A&T University and both in art education. She received her Ph.D. in art education/multicultural education from Ohio State University in 1981. Adams was a member […]
Sandy Adams
Sandy Adams


Sandy Adams represented Florida's 24th Congressional District from 2011-2013. Adams was born December 14, 1956, in Wyandotte, Michigan, into a military family. At the age of 17, Adams left high school and enrolled in the Air Force, serving from 1974-1975, and earning her GED in 1983. In 2000, she earned a B.A. in criminal justice administration from Columbia College – Orlando. Adams served as the deputy sheriff in the Orange County (Florida) Sheriff's Office from 1985-2002, then served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2003-2011. For information on Adams' […]
Cindy Axne
Cindy Axne


Cindy Axne served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District from 2019-2023. Axne and Abby Finkenauer, who also won election to the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 6, 2018, are the first women to serve in the U.S. House from Iowa. Axne lost her re-election bid in the 2022 general election. Since 2023, she has served as a senior adviser to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Axne was born on April 20, 1965, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from […]
Michele Bachmann
Michele M Bachmann


Michele Bachmann represented Minnesota's 6th District in the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2015. She was the first Republican woman to represent Minnesota in Congress. Bachmann was born April 6, 1956, in Waterloo, Iowa. In 1968, Bachmann's family moved to Minnesota. In 1978, Bachmann graduated from Winona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and English. In 1986, she received her Juris Doctorate from Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University. In 1988, she completed her L.L.M. in tax law at the […]
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy S Baldwin


Tammy Baldwin was elected to the United States Senate for Wisconsin in November 2012. She is the first woman to represent Wisconsin in Congress and the first openly gay U.S. senator. Baldwin was born February 11, 1962, and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. She completed her bachelor’s degree in political science and mathematics from Smith College in 1984 and received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1989. After earning her law degree, Baldwin practiced law for several years. In 1986, while still in law school, […]
Becca Balint
Becca Balint


Becca Balint has represented Vermont’s at-large congressional district since 2023. Balint is the first woman and openly LGBTQ person to represent Vermont in the U.S. House of Representatives. Balint was born in Heidelberg, Germany, at a U.S. Army hospital. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Smith College before earning a master’s degree in education from Harvard University in 1995. Balint also obtained a master’s degree in history from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2001. Prior to entering the political realm, she worked in education, teaching at public and […]
Nanette Diaz Barragán
Nanette Diaz Barragán


Nanette Diaz Barragán has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for California's 44th District since 2017. Barragán was born September 15, 1976, in Harbor City, California. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor in public policy from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2000 and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California in 2005. Prior to law school, Barragán worked in the Office of Public Liaison for the Clinton Administration and for the NAACP. After law school, she served as […]
Karen Bass
Karen Bass


Karen Bass assumed office as mayor of Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 12, 2022, the first woman elected as mayor of that city. Previously, Bass served in the U.S. House of Representatives for California from 2011-2023. Bass was born October 3, 1953, in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from the USC Keck School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program in 1982, from California State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in health sciences in 1990, and from the University of Southern California with a master's degree in social work in […]
Melissa Bean
Melissa Bean


Melissa Bean represented Illinois' 8th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from 2005-2011. Bean was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 22, 1962. She received an associate's degree from Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1982 and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, in 2002. Before serving in Congress, Bean worked for several telecommunications companies, and was president of Sales Resources Inc.. During her time as a United States representative, Bean was a member of the Blue Dog […]