Maria Ruud is a Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 politician and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives

Minnesota House of Representatives

The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...

 who represented District 42A, which includes portions of western Hennepin County

Hennepin County, Minnesota

Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2010 the population was 1,152,425. Its county seat is Minneapolis. It is by far the most populous county in Minnesota; more than one in five Minnesotans live...

 in the Twin Cities

Twin cities

Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...

 metropolitan area.

A Democrat

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party

The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...

, Ruud was first elected in 2004 when she narrowly defeated incumbent Rep. Peter Adolphson. She was re-elected in 2006 and 2008, but was unseated by just 107 votes by Republican

Republican Party of Minnesota

The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...

 Kirk Stensrud

Kirk Stensrud

Kirk D. Stensrud is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives who represents District 42A, which includes portions of western Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area...

 in the 2010 general election.

Ruud served as vice chair of the Energy Finance and Policy Division Committee, and was a member of the Education Finance and Economic Competitiveness Finance Division, the Health and Human Services, the Health Care and Human Services Finance Division, and the Mental Health Division committees.

Ruud is an Obstetrician-Gynecologist Nurse Practitioner

Nurse practitioner

A Nurse Practitioner is an Advanced practice registered nurse who has completed graduate-level education . Additional APRN roles include the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist s, CNMs, and CNSs...

 at Park Nicollet Health Services in Brooklyn Center

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

As of the census of 2010, there were 30,104 residents in Brooklyn Center. The racial makeup of the city was 49% White, 26% African American, 1% Native American, 14% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 5% from other races, and 4% from two or more races...

. She graduated from Bloomington Jefferson High School

Bloomington Jefferson High School

For schools with a similar name, see Jefferson High School.Thomas Jefferson Senior High School is one of the two high schools in Bloomington, MN, USA Independent School District No. 271. It is located on at 102nd Street and France Avenue on the suburb's southwest side. About 1,600 students attend...

 in Bloomington

Bloomington, Minnesota

Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...

, then went on to the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

, receiving her B.S.N.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing is an American four year academic degree in the science and principles of nursing, granted by a tertiary education university or similarly accredited school...

 She later earned her M.S.N.

Master of Science in Nursing

A Master of Science in Nursing is an advanced-level postgraduate degree for registered nurses and is considered an entry-level degree for nurse educators and managers. The degree also may prepare a nurse to seek a career as a nurse administrator, health policy expert, or clinical nurse leader...

 at the University of California

University of California, San Francisco

The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...

 in San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

.

External links