Bonamici, Suzanne, 1954-

<p>Suzanne Marie Bonamici (/ˌbɒnəˈmiːtʃi/ BONN-ə-MEE-chee; born October 14, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 1st congressional district, a seat she was first elected to in a 2012 special election. The district includes most of Portland west of the Willamette River, as well as all of Yamhill, Columbia, Clatsop, and Washington Counties.</p>

<p>A Democrat, Bonamici represented the 17th district in the Oregon State Senate from 2008 to 2011. She was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2006.</p>

<p>Bonamici was born in Detroit and raised in a small Michigan town. She earned an associate degree from Lane Community College in 1978, and a bachelor's degree in 1980 and J.D. in 1983, both from the University of Oregon. After college, she became a legal assistant at Lane County Legal Aid in Eugene. After law school, she became a consumer protection attorney for the Federal Trade Commission in the nation's capital. She went into private practice in Portland and represented small businesses.</p>

<p>Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici represents the First Congressional District of Oregon, which includes Washington, Yamhill, Clatsop, and Columbia counties and part of Multnomah County.</p>

<p>Strengthening public education is one of Suzanne's top priorities and one of the reasons she got involved in public service. Suzanne spent hundreds of hours volunteering in public schools before serving in the Oregon State Legislature, where she passed legislation to reduce duplicative testing. In Congress, she is a leader on the Education and Labor Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services. The Congresswoman has long been an advocate for equity in education policy and funding. She is dedicated to setting national policies that give students the support and opportunities they need to succeed in school and in life. She played a lead role in the passage of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind, reduced testing, put more focus on well-rounded education, and gave more decision-making back to states and local districts.</p>

<p>Suzanne worked her way through college in Eugene, first at Lane Community College and then at the University of Oregon, where she earned her bachelor's degree and law degree. She is focused on making college more affordable and providing workers with in-demand skills to enter the workforce. Suzanne is the founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional STEAM Caucus, which encourages innovation and creative thinking by integrating arts and design with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education.</p>

BONAMICI, Suzanne, a Representative from Oregon; born in Detroit, Wayne County, Mich., October 14, 1954; A.A., Lane Community College, Eugene, Oreg. 1978; B.A., University of Oregon, Eugene, Oreg., 1980; J.D., University of Oregon, Eugene, Oreg., 1983; lawyer, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C.; lawyer, private practice; staff, Oregon state house of representatives, 2001-2006; member of Oregon state house of representatives 2007-2008; member of Oregon state senate, 2008-2011; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Twelfth Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative David Wu, and reelected to the five succeeding Congresses (January 31, 2012-present).