Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale of Shelburne, Chittenden County, Democrat, received a BS in Natural Resource Planning and a BA in Political Science from the University of Vermont in 2008. She served in the Vermont House of Representatives on behalf of Burlington, Chittenden District 6-4 from 2008 to 2016, where she sat on the House General, Housing & Military Affairs and Ways & Means Committees, and as Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee. Kesha earned her Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2018. She was elected to the Senate in 2020 as the first woman of color to serve in this role in history, and she is now the Chair of the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee and sits on the Senate Finance Committee. Her career in Vermont has spanned Head Start preschool support, legal advocacy for victims of domestic violence, municipal civic engagement, and consulting to build social equity and inclusion in non-profit organizations, businesses, school districts, and municipalities. She has also served as Co-Chair of the Vermont Attorney General's Immigration Task Force, and as a member of the boards of Emerge Vermont, the Main Street Alliance of Vermont, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the Regenerative Food Network, and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. Kesha lives with her husband, Jacob Hinsdale, who grew up on Country Cedars Farm in Charlotte, and their dog, Miso, in Shelburne. They are expecting their first child in May of 2023.