Davids, Sharice, 1980-

<p>Representative Davids was raised by a single mother, who served in the Army for 20 years. After graduating from Leavenworth High School, she worked her way through Johnson County Community College and the University of Missouri-Kansas City before earning a law degree from Cornell Law School. As a first generation college student who worked the entire time she was in college, Rep. Davids understands the importance of quality public schools and affordable higher education. It is that foundation that allowed her to go on to a successful career, focused on economic and community development, which included time as a White House Fellow under President Barack Obama.</p>

<p>When she was sworn into the 116th Congress, Rep. Davids became one of the first two Native American women to serve in Congress. Rep. Davids has centered her work in office on putting Kansans first, fighting to limit the influence of special interests and make health care more affordable and accessible to everyone. She is a resident of Roeland Park.</p>

DAVIDS, Sharice, a Representative from Kansas; born in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 22, 1980; an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation; graduated from Leavenworth High School, Leavenworth, Kans., 1998; attended Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, Kans.; attended University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans.; A.A., Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kans., 2003; B.A., University of Missouri, Kansas City, Mo., 2007; J.D., Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., 2010; lawyer; business owner; non-profit executive; professional athlete; White House Fellow, 2016-2017; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Sixteenth and to the succeeding Congress (January 3, 2019-present).

<p>Sharice Lynnette Davids (/ʃəˈris/; born May 22, 1980) is an American attorney, former mixed martial artist, and politician serving as the U.S. Representative from Kansas's 3rd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes most of the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including cities such as Kansas City, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Leawood, Lenexa, as well as Olathe.</p>

<p>Elected in 2018, Davids became the first Democrat elected to represent a Kansas congressional district in a decade. Davids is the first openly LGBT Native American elected to the U.S. Congress, the first openly lesbian person elected to the U.S. Congress from Kansas, and one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, along with Deb Haaland of New Mexico. She defeated incumbent Kevin Yoder in the 2018 election. She is also the second Native American to represent Kansas in Congress, after Republican Charles Curtis. As of 2020, Davids remains the only Democrat in Kansas's congressional delegation. As of March 2021, she is the only Native Democrat in the House, following the resignation of Deb Haaland to become Secretary of the Interior.</p>

<p>A lawyer educated at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and Cornell Law School, Davids was a professional mixed martial artist in the 2010s.</p>