Graduate, Pulaski High School; B.A. in Political Science and History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; M.A. in Public Policy and Public Administration, La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Milwaukee Police Department Citizen Academy, 2018.

Member- Menominee Valley Partners; Friends of Hank Aaron State Trail; Sierra Club; Jackson Park Neighborhood Association; Milwaukee VA Soldiers Home Advisory Council; Wisconsin Humane Society; Friends of the Mitchell Park Domes; Human Rights Campaign; Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Recipient- Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Legislator of the Year; Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters Conservation Champion; several Wisconsin Environmental Decade Clean 16 awards; Shepherd Express Best State Legislator; Wisconsin Public Health Association's Champion of Public Health; Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups Award for Service to Seniors; Wisconsin Professional Fire Fighters Legislator of the Year.

Elected to Assembly 1984-2000. Elected to Senate since 2002. Leadership positions- Senate President Pro Tempore, 2013, 2011; Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore, 1993-94.

Member of State Fair Park Board and Transportation Projects Commission