LinkedIn Speaker Series: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

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• published: 11 Oct 2014
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Join us for a conversation with Mike Callahan, General Counsel, LinkedIn and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand about how to raise your voice, make a difference and change the world. Revolutionary, transparent, empowering and forward-thinking are just a few of the words that have been used to describe Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Since taking office in 2009 at age 42 to fill Hillary Rodham Clinton's New York Senate seat when Clinton was appointed Secretary of State, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has established herself as a passionate, fearless, and laser-focused presence in Congress.The granddaughter and daughter of two trail-blazing feminists, Gillibrand is a fierce advocate for getting women involved in the issues that matter most to them and making their voices heard; in 2011, she formed the PAC Off the Sidelines with that very mission in mind. And as a wife and mother to two young sons, she's a role model to working moms everywhere. With the release of OFF THE SIDELINES: Raise Your Voice, Change the World, Senator Gillibrand hopes to share her message with a much wider audience. By telling her story, she aims to inspire all women, no matter their age or socio-economic status, to live their lives with meaning and purpose— to let them know that women need to lift each other up, and that there is power in the collective. “Speak up, be heard. You can make a difference”, she writes. More About Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Born and raised in upstate New York, Kirsten Gillibrand got her start watching her grandmother, Polly Noonan, organize Albany women to make a difference. Those early experiences taught Kirsten the values that guide her public service to this day: hard work, idealism, honesty and bold action. As congresswoman, Gillibrand pledged to be honest, open and upfront with the public and always stay accessible and accountable. The New York Times called her commitment to transparency a "quiet touch of revolution" in Washington. Shortly after being elected to the Senate in 2009, Gillibrand made her presence felt, leading the fight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and overcoming fierce partisan opposition to provide health care and compensation for the 9/11 first responders. This year, she has earned national recognition for fighting the Pentagon over how sexual assaults in the military are prosecuted, creating a unique bipartisan coalition in the process. She is now helping to lead a bipartisan coalition to take on the issue of sexual assaults on our college campuses – all while continuing her successful Off the Sidelines project which supports women candidates across the country. Gillibrand’s work led TIME Magazine to name her as one of 2014’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” and the New York Daily News to place her number four on its recent list of “50 Most Powerful Women in New York.” Kirsten has also been recognized as one of Newsweek and The Daily Beast‘s “150 Women Who Shake the World.” Today, Kirsten and her husband, Jonathan, live in Troy, New York with their two young sons, Theo and Henry. Her family is a major inspiration behind her public service career. She does not want any mother to have to worry that there will not be enough food on the table or health care for their sick child.