Former U.S. Senator (D-CA)
Barbara Boxer is a former U.S. Senator, Congresswoman, and County Supervisor. She served the state of California in the U.S. Senate for 24 years and in the House of Representatives for 10 years before that. Her service in the Senate included chairing the Environment and Public Works Committee where she focused on the environment and infrastructure. She was a senior member on the Foreign Relations Committee where she worked for global women’s issues and for the successful use of the soft power of diplomacy. She also served as the top Democrat on the Senate Ethics Committee.
Senator Boxer has won numerous awards for her efforts to create a cleaner, healthier environment and for her dedicated work to address the threats of climate change. She has led efforts in Congress to protect California’s coast from offshore oil drilling and fought to end the unethical use of human subjects in pesticide testing by federal agencies. She worked to fund anti-gang programs, pass the Violence Against Women Law (VAWA), and the Community Policy “COPS” Program. Senator Boxer helped lead the floor fight for passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and fought back against repeated attacks on women’s health and a woman’s right to privacy.
An author of several books, her latest one “The Art of Tough,” Boxer’s message is that every single one of us should be empowered to make life better for our communities through positive change in debate and government.
Senator Boxer served as a Fall 2020 Fellow at the USC Center for the Political Future. She taught a course on “Demystifying Governance and Politics.”