| Senator Danielle Conrad was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 2006 and 2010. She served as a member of the powerful budget writing Appropriations Committee for 8 years. Senator Conrad has an impressive reputation for being a hard worker and someone who reaches across party lines to deliver on important issues.
As a testament to her common sense leadership style and her considerable policy making experience she has been selected by her peers to serve in the numerous leadership roles. Senator Conrad has been instrumental in support of efforts that benefit working families during her time in office. Specific legislative accomplishments include- establishing a loan forgiveness program for rural attorneys and public interest attorneys, working as a champion for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, supporting the largest tax cut in Nebraska history, introducing and spearheading efforts to modernize our state's economic development strategies; leading the charge to ensure adequate funding to maintain Nebraska's excellent educational system, with a special emphasis in support of the University of Nebraska and higher education as a whole; increasing the minimum wage which has benefited over 60,000 working Nebraska families and lessened their reliance on public assistance; establishing for the first time in Nebraska law a scholarship for children of first responders killed in the line of duty; streamlining our workers compensation system; and improving access to health care for women and children. In 2013, she passed the first increase in the childcare program in over a decade benefiting about 5,000 more working families. In 2014, she made historic progress on LGBT rights by prioritizing and bringing the state level ENDA to the floor and securing majority support.
In addition to these statewide efforts, Senator Conrad knows how to take care of Lincoln. She has introduced and helped to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenue for Lincoln by reforming storm water formula; reforming the cigarette sales tax formula to help finance Antelope Valley; served as a committee leader to secure a $1 million appropriation for Lincoln to support the 2010 Special Olympics, and increasing transit aid.
Senator Conrad has won advocacy awards for her efforts to increase funding for citizens with developmental disabilities, improve public education, her commitment to higher education, her leadership on women's reproductive health, and her work to abolish the death penalty.
In 2014, Senator Conrad led a historic and successful citizen initiative to increase the state minimum wage that secured over 135,000 citizen signatures in support of the measure and captured nearly 60% support among the Nebraska electorate. She helped raised, managed a budget of approximately $1.5 million dollars, and coordinated all aspects of the statewide campaign.
Senator Conrad graduated from of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska College of Law. As a citizen legislator, Senator Conrad served as the Director of the Lincoln Parks Foundation. Prior to serving in this capacity, she worked as a staff attorney and public policy advocate for low-income working families and new immigrants at the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.
For the last eight years she has led a statewide civil rights organization, served on numerous civic boards and commissions, and is an active community volunteer.
On August 15, 2009, she married Thomas Conrad (University of Nebraska College of Law JD 2003) who owns and operates Heartland Optical, a small business located in North Lincoln. The couple resides in the East Campus Neighborhood and enjoys fishing, and attending Husker sporting events. The couple has two children who attend Lincoln Public Schools. |