Senator Collins graduated Phi Beta Kappa from St. Lawrence University in 1975 and began working for Maine Representative Bill Cohen. She remained a member of his staff when he was elected to the Senate three years later, where she was promoted to staff director of the Oversight of Government Management Subcommittee of the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
In 1987, she was appointed by Maine Governor John McKernan as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. In 1992, she was appointed as Director of the Small Business Administration’s Regional Office by President George H.W. Bush. She continued her work to champion small businesses when she was named the founding Executive Director of the Center for Family Business at Husson College (now Husson University) in 1994.
Mainers are hardworking and resilient. I believe that expanding access to robust workforce training is essential to give people the opportunity to gain the skills they need to secure good-paying jobs and forge promising new career paths. In addition, throughout my Senate service, I have championed policies that support small businesses, the job-creating engines that power our economy. I have also authored and supported legislation to provide tax relief for families and job creators, cut bureaucratic red tape, and promote fair trade policies that allow Maine workers and business to compete on a level playing field in the 21st century economy.