Sinema, Kyrsten, 1976-

Kyrsten Lea Sinema (born July 12, 1976) is an American politician, attorney, social worker, and author serving as the senior United States Senator from Arizona since January 2019. A Democrat, she served three terms as a state representative for Arizona's 15th legislative district from 2005 to 2011, one term as the state senator for Arizona's 15th legislative district from 2011 to 2012, and three terms as the United States Representative for Arizona's 9th congressional district from 2013 to 2019.

Born in Tucson, Arizona and raised there and in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, Sinema earned her B.A. from Brigham Young University. She worked as a social worker from 1995 to 2002 in the Phoenix metropolitan area's Washington Elementary School District, receiving a Master of Social Work degree from Arizona State University in 1999. In 2004 she earned a J.D. degree from Arizona State University College of Law and became a criminal defense lawyer. In 2003, Sinema became an adjunct professor teaching master's-level policy and grant-writing classes at Arizona State University School of Social Work and an adjunct Business Law Professor at Arizona Summit Law School, formerly known as Phoenix School of Law. In 2008, Sinema completed the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government program for senior executives in state and local government as a David Bohnett LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow. In 2012 she earned a Ph.D. in justice studies, also from Arizona State.

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