United States California Members of the United States Senate Senator Laphonza Butler

Laphonza Butler was appointed to the United States Senate by California Governor Gavin Newsom to serve the remainder of the late Dianne Feinstein’s term.

According to her official biography, Senator Butler was president of EMILYs list, which is dedicated to electing Democratic pro-choice women. During her tenure, EMILYs list recruited and supported over 600 women to run for elected office. Butler has also worked as a strategist for various organizations, companies and candidates. She played a key role in Holly Mitchell’s campaign for supervisor in Los Angeles County.

Prior to that, she spent nearly two decades as an organizer and leader in the labor movement. At age 30, she was elected president of SEIU local 2015, California’s largest homecare and nursing home workers union. While she was president, the union’s membership grew to more than 325,000, making SEIU 2015 the largest homecare worker union in America.

Read more about her days as a labor organizer in this article by California Local’s Graham Womack.