Senator kirsten e gillibrand biography of michael

How old is kirsten gillibrand

Coming from a politically active family, her father, Douglas P. Rutnik, was a lawyer and lobbyist for the Democrats, and her mother, Polly Noonan Rutnik, was also involved in politics. Her grandmother, Dorothea 'Polly' Noonan, was a prominent women's rights advocate and a leader in the Democratic Party in Albany. Growing up, Gillibrand often heard her grandmother discussing various political topics, which greatly influenced her.

Gillibrand completed her education at Dartmouth College in , where she specialized in Asian studies. During her studies, she had the opportunity to visit China and Taiwan, and she became fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Even now, she occasionally incorporates Chinese words into her speeches. She went on to receive a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in She handled a wide range of legal and political issues, from cases of domestic violence against women and children to finding new housing for people whose homes were deemed uninhabitable.

She became the second woman in the history of the United States to serve as a senator from New York. Prior to this, Gillibrand had been elected twice to the House of Representatives representing New York's 20th congressional district. She served in this position from January to January , becoming the first woman to represent the district and the first Democrat since Edward W.