Esty, Elizabeth, 1959-

<p>In 2012 Elizabeth Esty, a Yale-trained lawyer and former member of the Connecticut general assembly, won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. On Capitol Hill, Esty worked with Republicans to open science education opportunities for girls and young women and passed a law to help female scientists bring their discoveries to market. She also worked on energy production issues back home and helped lead the efforts among House Democrats to pass gun control.</p>

<p>Elizabeth Esty was born Elizabeth Henderson on August 25, 1959, in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago, to Thomas and Mitzi Henderson. Her father was a construction engineer, and her mother was active in religious and charitable organizations. Her father’s job caused the family to move frequently to different construction projects across the nation. In 1977 Esty graduated from Winona High School in Winona, Minnesota, and graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1981. She then studied at the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris, France. Esty attended Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, earned her law degree in 1985, and clerked for a U.S. District Judge in Massachusetts. She married Daniel Esty, a fellow law school student, in October 1984. He later became the head of Connecticut’s energy and environment programs. They have a daughter and two sons.</p>

<p>As young professionals, the Estys settled in Washington, DC. She joined a private law firm and worked on cases defending abortion rights. In 1990 she left the practice to concentrate on health care policy and taught as an adjunct at American University. In 1994, when her husband founded an environmental law and policy program at Yale University, the Estys relocated to Connecticut. She became a senior research scholar at Yale Law School.</p>

<p>Elizabeth Esty (née Henderson; born August 25, 1959) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Connecticut's 5th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. A Democrat, she previously was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing the 103rd Assembly District, which consisted of Cheshire and parts of Hamden and Wallingford. She also served two terms on the Cheshire Town Council. The 5th congressional district spans central and northwest Connecticut, including Waterbury, Danbury, New Britain, Meriden, Torrington, Litchfield County, the Farmington Valley, Newtown, and Esty's hometown of Cheshire.</p>

<p>Esty defeated two challengers in the August 14, 2012, Democratic primary to become the Democratic nominee in Connecticut's 5th congressional district, and on November 6, 2012, she defeated challenger Andrew Roraback. Esty defeated Mark Greenberg on November 4, 2014, in the state's most competitive district to win her first re-election. On November 8, 2016, Esty defeated Sherman First Selectman Clay Cope by a margin of 58%–42% to win re-election a second time.</p>

<p>In early 2018, Esty faced public criticism after news reports revealed that her former chief of staff had been accused of sexual harassment and threats of violence against staff but that she kept him on the payroll for another three months and wrote him a positive letter of reference. After initially insisting she would continue to serve, Esty announced that she would not seek reelection. She cited her failure to protect women on her staff from sexual harassment and threats of violence from her former chief of staff. Jahana Hayes succeeded Esty in Congress.</p>