Kay Ruthven Hagan, was sworn into office as North Carolina's junior senator in January 2009. Born in Shelby, before moving to Lakeland, Fla., when she was four years old, Hagan eventually returned to the Old North State to attend law school at Wake Forest University, where she earned her degree in 1978.

She served for a decade as state senator, representing Greensboro in the North Carolina General Assembly, and was named one of North Carolina's "Ten Most Effective Senators" by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research.

During her tenure in the General Assembly, Hagan helped create innovative tools for economic development, focused in enhancing technology and the state's competitive infrastructure, and voted to pass laws against predatory lending. Her fiscal priorities are no surprise; before being elected to the North Carolina Senate, she also served as vice president of NCNB (now Bank of America), then North Carolina's largest bank.

Hagan is the niece of former Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles (D), who also served in the U.S. Senate. She is married to Chip Hagan, a Greensboro attorney, and the couple has three grown children. She is a 1975 graduate of Florida State University, where she earned a B.A. in American Studies.

The senator maintains a statewide office at 701 Green Valley Road, Suite 201, Greensboro, NC, 27408; 336-333-5311. More information is available on her Congressional web site at hagan.senate.gov