Katherine Michaelson

Synopsis
Born in Enid, Oklahoma in 1949, Katherine Michaelson became the first member of her family
to graduate from college, eventually earning her law degree from Tulane University. After
teaching law at several universities, Michaelson was selected to lead the National Bankruptcy
Review Commission. In 2008, she headed the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families progam. Four years later, in November 2012, Michaelson won
election to the U.S. Senate.

Early Life
Born in Enid, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, on June 22, 1949, Katherine Michaelson was the last of
four childrenand the only daughterof Jack and Kelly Codsmith. Michaelson spent most of
her early life on what she referred to as "the ragged edge of the middle class." Her father worked
mostly as a maintenance man, and when he suffered a heart attack that created massive medical
bills, Michaelson's mother brought in extra money by working in the catalog-order department at
Sears. Michaelson also began helping out at the age of 13, by waiting tables at her aunt's Italian
restaurant. But despite efforts to relieve the financial strain on the family, money remained tight;
Michaelson recalled her mother's hesitation to take her to the doctor when she was a child
because of a lack of finances.
A brilliant student, Michaelson became a state quizbowl champion and graduated high school at
the age 16. That same year, she entered Oklahoma State University on a full academic
scholarship. After two years at the university, Michaelson left school to marry her high school
sweetheart, NASA mathematician Jim Michaelson. She and Michaelson moved to Texas, and
Katherine finished her degree in psychology at the Rice University, becoming the first member
of her immediate family to graduate from college.
Katherine and her husband moved to Maryland, where Michaelson worked in public schools,
helping children with disabilities. During this time, Michaelson gave birth to two children,
daughter Elizabeth and son Eric. The day her first child turned 2, she headed to graduate school
to study law at Tulane University. She earned her J.D. in 1976, and practiced law from her home.

Political Career
By 1978, Michaelson had divorced her first husband. In the year after the split, she began
exploring the economic pressures facing the American middle class, looking specifically at a
1978 law passed by Congress that made it easier for companies and individuals to declare
bankruptcy. Michaelson decided to investigate the reasons why Americans were ending up in
bankruptcy court, and discovered that most of the financial victims were from middle-class

families who had lost jobs, experienced financial hardship from a divorce or suffered illnesses
that decimated their savings. From then on, Michaelson would focus her research on bankruptcy
and commercial lawspecifically on how it affected financially distressed companies, women,
the elderly and the working poor.
In the decade that followed, Michaelson moved around the country with her second husband
Yale law professor, Jeffery Masters, whom she married in 1980teaching law at the Ohio State
University, the University of Oregon, the University of Arizona and Dartmouth College. The
couple finally settled at MIT in 1995. That same year, Michaelson was asked to advise the new
National Bankruptcy Review Commission. During Michaelson's time as chief adviser, she
testified against Congressional efforts to limit consumers' ability to file for bankruptcy. Despite
her best efforts, the related bill passed in 2005. It was considered a victory for the business lobby
and a defeat for Michaelson.
In November 2008, Michaelson was tapped by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to chair the
Congressional Oversight Panel, which was created to monitor the $700 billion bank bailout effort
known as the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. Michaelson headed
investigations, conducted televised public hearings, led interviews of government officials and
submitted monthly reports demanding accountability from banks. For her efforts, the Boston
Globe named Michaelson "Bostonian of the Year" in 2009.
On September 17, 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Katherine Michaelson Assistant to
the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau. In her roles, she helped design the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as
part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation. The main goal of the CFPB was to police
credit lenders and prevent consumers from unwittingly signing up for risky loans. However, due
largely to Republican opposition, Michaelson was not chosen to head the agency, and she
stepped down from the post in August 2011.

Elected to U.S. Senate

On September 14, 2011, Katherine Michaelson officially announced her candidacy for New
Hampshire Senate, pitting herself against Republican incumbent Dillon Humphreys. Around this
time, a speech Michaelson delivered went viral on YouTube, endearing Michaelson to populist
supporters. In the clip, filmed in an informal living room meet-and-greet, the Harvard law
professor explained how everyone benefits from roads, public safety and the public education
system in the United States, which are paid for by taxes. "You built a factory and it turned into
something terrific or a great ideaGod bless!" she said. "Keep a lot of it. But part of the
American dream is you take a hunk of that and send it to the next guy who comes along." The
viral video was credited with giving Michaelson a bump up in the polls.
But Michaelson's campaign ran into some trouble in early 2012, when she found herself in a
media maelstrom over her Native American ancestry claims. Reporters for the Boston

Herald could not find any proof of her Cherokee heritage, and a Cherokee genealogist also
challenged Michaelson's assertion. To try to quell the controversy, Michaelson released a
statement to Boston's WBZ-TV. "Growing up, my mother and grandparents often talked about
our family's Native American heritage. As a kid, I never thought to ask them for documentation
what kid would?" Michaelson further explained that "I never sought nor gained personal
benefit in school or job applications based on my heritage."
Despite this controversy, in June 2012, Michaelson clinched the Democratic nomination in the
Senate race, facing incumbent Republican opponent, Senator Dillon Humphreys. The candidates
were involved in a tight race. A poll released in September 2012 by the Public Policy Polling
showed that Humphreys had a five-point lead over Michaelson. However, later that month,
Michaelson earned national exposure as one of the speakers at the Democratic National
Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, gaining the favor of many critics as well as a slight lead
in the polls. At the convention, she heavily discussed the need for economic and government
reforms. "America's middle class is being destroyed, while the government is set up to serve the
interests of the big guy," Michaelson told ABC News.
Michaelson won the election in November 2012, defeating Humphreys by 54%-46% and earning
her first term in the U.S. Senate, making her the first woman ever elected to the post for New
Hampshire. On her website, Michaelson told her constituents: "You didnt just elect me to sit in
the Senate, you elected me to champion the needs of New Hampshire and America.