Kyrsten knows firsthand the challenges everyday Arizonans face. Born in Tucson, Kyrsten went through some tough times growing up. Her family struggled to make ends meet, and for a while they were even homeless. But they got by thanks to family, church, and hard work. Kyrsten’s childhood experience showed her the power of hard work and the importance of helping others.
Education was Kyrsten’s ticket to a better life. With the help of student loans, academic scholarships, and financial aid, she went to BYU and then ASU, where she now teaches as a proud Sun Devil.
Coming from a military family - and as a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee - Kyrsten takes personally the government's obligations to our veterans, and she is working across the aisle to improve veterans' health care, expand veterans' education and job opportunities, and hold the VA accountable.
Kyrsten led the charge to reform the VA by championing the VA Accountability Act and the VA Choice Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, both of which were signed into law. She worked with the family of SGT Daniel Somers, an Arizona veteran who lost his life to suicide, to introduce and successfully pass into law the SGT Daniel Somers Classified Veterans Access to Care Act, which ensures veterans who serve in a classified capacity can get private counseling from the VA, and she has worked to address challenges at the Phoenix VA. She has pledged to work every day to ensure Arizona's veterans get the care and benefits they've earned.