Zoe Lofgren

Zoe Lofgren has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995. She represents the18th District of California, which serves communities in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.

A lifelong Bay Area resident and the daughter of a truck driver and a cafeteria cook and, later, a secretary. Zoe attended public schools and attended Stanford University on a California State Scholarship, graduating with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1970. Prior to attending Stanford, Lofgren worked the night shift at the Eastman Kodak plant in Palo Alto to save money for non-tuition college expenses not covered by her scholarship. After graduating from Stanford, she attended Santa Clara University School of Law with the help of a scholarship, graduating cum laude in 1975. She served as a member of Congressman Don Edwards' staff for eight years in both his San Jose and Washington DC offices from 1970 to 1978. She practiced and taught immigration law, and was a founder and first executive director of the nonprofit Community Housing Developers. She was first elected to the San Jose Evergreen Community College Board in 1979. In 1980, she was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, where she served for 14 years. Following Congressman Don Edwards' retirement in 1994 after 32 years in Congress, Zoe was elected to the House of Representatives.