Kyrsten Sinema

Biographical Information

The following is from ALIS for the 50th Arizona State Legislature, 1st Regular Session (2011):

Kyrsten Sinema  
Democrat  District 15
Senate
1700 W. Washington
Room 313
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone Number: (602) 926-5058
Fax Number: (602) 417-3015
Email Address: [email protected]
Home City: Phoenix
Occupation: Attorney
Member Since:   [2005, member of the Arizona House of Representatives 2005-2010]
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Kyrsten Sinema was elected to the U.S. Senate in November, 2018. She will be the "first woman in the state's 106-year-old history to take a seat on the floor of the U.S. Senate." ("Kyrsten Sinema beats Martha McSally to become Arizona's first female senator" azcentral.com (Phoenix, AZ) November 12, 2018)

Kyrsten Sinema was elected to serve as District 15’s State Senator in November, 2010 and represents most of central Phoenix. Prior to this she served three terms in the House of Representatives and was the Assistant Leader to the House Democratic Caucus from 2009-2010. She sits on the Senate Appropriations, Rules, Judiciary and Government Reform Committees.

Kyrsten holds both a law degree and a master’s degree in Social Work from Arizona State University, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at ASU. She is an adjunct professor in the School of Social Work at ASU and practices law when not in session. Kyrsten also serves as faculty for the Center for Progressive Leadership, teaching tomorrow’s community leaders about the political process.

Kyrsten has worked on initiatives in Arizona and around the country for a number of years, and in 2006 chaired Arizona Together, the first and only successful effort in the country to defeat a same-sex marriage ban ballot initiative. In 2008, she chaired Protect Arizona’s Freedom, the coalition that defeated Ward Connerly’s effort to place an initiative on the state ballot to eliminate equal opportunity programs. She continues to consult with political groups around the nation on electoral and legislative strategy.

Representative Sinema was chosen last year as one of 32 state lawmakers nationwide, and the only legislator from Arizona, for the White House Health Reform Task Force. As a member of the Task Force, Sinema has worked with Arizonans to help shape national health reform so that middle-class families can have access to quality and affordable health care. The historic passage of health reform in Congress was signed into law on Tuesday, March 23rd 2010.

Kyrsten serves on numerous community and national boards, including People for the American Way, Progressive States Network, the YWCA of Maricopa County, Center for Progressive Leadership, and the Young Elected Officials’ Network. Kyrsten is the recipient of awards for her political leadership, including the NAACP Civil Rights Award, AZ Hispanic Community Forum Friend of the Year, Planned Parenthood Legislative CHOICE Award, Sierra Club’s Most Valuable Player, and the AZ Public Health Association Legislator of the Year.

Kyrsten is a 2009 Aspen-Rodel Fellow in Leadership. In May 2010, she completed the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Women in Power: Leadership in a New World program and in 2008 was chosen to participate in the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program. In 2006, she was a Center for Policy Alernative Flemming Fellow, and in 2005 was selected as an American Council of Young Political Leaders delegate to Morocco.

Kyrsten is a strong voice for the community at the national level, appearing on CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, and she speaks regularly at national conferences on a variety of issues including health care, immigration, equal rights, ballot initiatives, messaging strategy, coalition building. In October 2010 Sinema was named one of Time Magazine’s “40 under 40? as one of the “rising stars of American politics”.

Kyrsten’s first book, Unite and Conquer: How to Build Coalitions that Win and Last, was released in July 2009 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 

Sen. Sinema resigned January 3, 2012 in order to run for a seat in Arizona's 9th U.S. Congressional District. ("Redistricting may force GOP faceoff."  The Arizona Republic, January 5, 2012, p. A1: "State Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced Tuesday that she is resigning from the Legislature to seek the Democratic nomination in the 9th District. She lives just outside the district but said she plans to move.")

Senator Kyrsten Sinema resigned her seat on January 3, 2012 to run for a seat in the U.S. Congress and she was replaced by David Lujan ("Sinema quits Legislature to run for Congress."  eastvalleytribune.com (Mesa, AZ) January 3, 2012; Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Alia Beard Rau.  "David Lujan named as Sinema's replacement in Senate."  azcentral.com (Phoenix, AZ) January 11, 2012).

Senator Krysten Sinema has been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2022 by Time Magazine. (KSTAR News (Phoenix, AZ) May 23, 2022.)

Education

Juris Doctorate, Arizona State University, 2004.

Masters: Social Work, Arizona State University, 1999.

Additional Information

In December 2022, Senator Sinema announced that she is leaving the Democrat Party and will register as an independent. ("Sen. Kyrsten Sinema: Why I'm registering as an independent" by Krysten Sinema. Published Dec 9, 2022. Accessed Jan 9, 2022. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2022/12/09/sen-kyrsten-sinema-of-arizona-why-im-registering-as-an-independent/69712395007/)

Employment

Arizona Legislative Service

Sources

Birth: 2008 Guide to the 48th Legislature (green book) Education: ALIS for the 50th Arizona State Legislature, 1st Regular Session (2011)