Debbie Wasserman Schultz

**Debbie Wasserman Schultz** (born September 27, 1966) is the U.S. Representative for  since 2005. She was the  of the Democratic National Committee, the leader the Democratic Party from 2011 until she resigned in 2016. From 1993 to 2004, she served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate.

Her district covers parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Her district includes the cities of Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach.

## Early life, education and career
She was born Deborah Wasserman in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City. She grew up on Long Island. She received a Bachelor of Arts in 1988 and a Master of Arts with certificate in political campaigning in 1990, both in Political Science, from the University of Florida, in Gainesville.

At the University of Florida, Schultz was in student government. She was President of the Student Senate as well as founder and President of the Rawlings Area Council Government. She was also a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society, the James C. Grimm chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary, and the union Graduate Assistants United. She served as President of the Graduate Student Council.

## Florida House of Representatives
In 1988 Schultz became an aide to Peter Deutsch at the beginning of his state legislative career. She had lived in the district for only three years. Schultz then won 53 percent of the vote in a six-way Democratic primary and avoided a runoff.

She served in the Florida State House of Representatives for eight years. State term limits required Schultz to leave the House.

## Chair of the Democratic National Committee
In April 2011, Tim Kaine resigned as Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman in order to run for the United States Senate. On April 5, 2011, President Barack Obama chose Schultz to succeed Kaine as the 52nd Chairman of the DNC. Between Kaine's resignation and the next DNC meeting, current DNC Vice-Chair Donna Brazile served as the interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee. On May 4, 2011, the DNC met and elected Schultz as its chair. Schultz became the third female DNC chief in history and the first in over 15 years.

### Wikileaks scandal and resignation
On July 24, 2016, it was announced that she would resign her position as chairperson of the Democratic National Committee following the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Leaked emails provided by WikiLeaks showed Schultz and other members of the DNC staff mocking and attempting to sabotage the presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders in favor of Clinton's campaign.

The Clinton campaign announced the same day that Wasserman Schultz would act as honorary chair of an effort to elect Democrats across the United States in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.

## Personal life
Schultz currently lives in Weston outside Fort Lauderdale. She has three children and is married to Steve Schultz. She is an active member of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Planned Parenthood and Hadassah.

In March 2009, she said that she went through seven surgeries related to breast cancer in 2008, while remaining a member of the House. That year, she promoted efforts for early  for breast cancer.

## References
## Other websites 
* Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz  *official U.S. House site*
* Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Congress *official campaign site*
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