Born and raised in upstate New York, Kirsten got her start watching her grandmother, Polly Noonan, organize Albany women to make a difference. Those early experiences taught Kirsten the values that guide her public service to this day: hard work, idealism, honesty and bold action. Today, Kirsten and her husband, Jonathan, are passing those values on to their two young sons, Theo and Henry. Her fam
ily is a major inspiration behind her public service career. She does not want any mother to have to worry that there will not be enough food on the table or health care for their sick child. Senate in January 2009 and was elected in November 2010 with more than 63 percent of the vote to fill Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's seat. In 2012, Kirsten will run once again, this time for a six year term to serve as New York’s US Senator. Even in the face of steep challenges, Kirsten hit the ground running – leading efforts to bring more transparency and accountability to Washington and helping pass landmark legislation to repeal the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy that bans g**s from serving openly in the military, and provide health care and compensation to the 9/11 first responders and community survivors that are sick with diseases caused by the toxins at Ground Zero. As congresswoman, Kirsten pledged to be honest, open and upfront with the public and always stay accessible and accountable. That's why she became the very first member of Congress to make her official daily schedule and the participants of every one of her meetings publicly available. She also launched a successful "Congress at Your Corner" series to meet her constituents at hotspots like grocery stores and coffee shops, a practice she has continued as senator. Before being elected to Congress, Kirsten served in the Clinton administration as special counsel to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Andrew Cuomo. She graduated magna cm laude from Dartmouth College and received her law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law. She served as a law clerk on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. As an attorney for 15 years, Kirsten worked on a wide range of legal and policy-related issues, often providing free legal representation to people who could not otherwise afford it.
