Barbara Boxer

Barbara Levy Boxer (born November 11, 1940) is the junior United States Senator from California and a member of the Democratic Party. With the convening of the 110th Congress, Boxer became the first female chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, following the resignation of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) from the post, she was also chosen as chair of the Select Committee on Ethics, making her the only senator to preside over two committees simultaneously. She holds the record for the most popular votes in a statewide contested election in California, having received 6,955,728 votes in her 2004 re-election over former Republican Secretary of State Bill Jones. She currently holds the position of Chief Deputy Whip of the Democratic Majority and defeated Republican challenger Carly Fiorina in the United States Senate election on November 2, 2010. Barbara Levy Boxer was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents Sophie (née Silvershein; born in Austria) and Ira Levy. She attended public schools, and graduated from George W. Wingate High School in 1958. In 1962, she married Stewart Boxer and graduated from Brooklyn College with a bachelor's degree in Economics.