NAME: Katherine Francesca Midura
BIRTH: 18 June 1958
SEX: Female
RESIDENCE: Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
REGION: Atlantic Seaboard // Northeast
PARTY: Democratic

EDUCATION:

High School Diploma, St. Paul's School, 1975.
B.A., Biochemistry, Middlebury College, 1979.
M.D., Harvard Medical School, 1983.

CAREER:

Surgical Resident, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1983-1988.
Attending Surgeon, University of Pennsylvania Health System, 1988-1993.
United States Senator for the Atlantic Seaboard, 1993-Present.

BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Katherine Francesca Norcross Midura was born Katherine Francesca Norcross to Michael and Elizabeth Norcross on June 18th, 1958 in Boston, Massachusetts. Michael was an investment banker with the State Street Corporation and Elizabeth worked in the administration at Harvard University. Katherine was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her four siblings: Michael Davis Norcross (1955), Meredith Gale Norcross (1960), Allison Elizabeth Norcross (1961), and Daniel Chafee Norcross (1964). Upon turning 13, Katherine, like the rest of her siblings, was enrolled at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.

At St. Paul's Katherine excelled as a member of the tennis team and the ski team. She graduated from St. Paul's as the school's valedictorian in 1975, the first woman to be given that honor. While spending summers between her family's house on Nantucket and her aunt's house in Edgartown, Katherine was introduced to Devin Midura, a student at Phillips Exeter, whom she would eventually marry. After St. Paul's, Katherine attended Middlebury College, where she skied for all four years. In 1979, she graduated from Middlebury magna cum laude and enrolled at Harvard Medical School, where she took the Hippocratic Oath in 1983.

After graduating from Harvard, Katherine was accepted into a surgical oncology residency program at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which she completed in five years before joining the University of Pennsylvania Health System. At UPenn, Katherine was noted for working to pioneer new procedures for the surgical removal of brain tumors and cysts. In 1991, U.S. News & World Reports named her the top surgeon in the nation. When the head of UPenn's oncology department announced he was stepping down in 1993, Katherine was widely tipped to replace him. However, that was upset by her announcement that she would enter politics instead.

In early 1992, Katherine declared that she would be running for the United States Senate to represent the Atlantic Seaboard. She faced opponent Dan Ballentyne, who was also a newcomer to politics. After a race that was often considered too close to call, Katherine was elected with over 50% of the vote. She was sworn into the Senate by Vice President Dan Quayle on January 6, 1993.

In 1983, after graduating from medical school, Katherine married Devin Midura in a large ceremony in Ireland. The couple settled in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, though Devin travelled often for work. On October 12, 1984, the couple had their first daughter, Nina Chelsea Midura. Nina was followed by Devin James Midura III in 1986, Rory Bridget Midura in 1988, twins Thatcher Collins Midura and Pierce Tanner Midura in 1990, and Lillian Bailey Midura in 1992. The couple maintains a primary residence in Gladwyne and a summer home that has been in Katherine's family for a centuries on Nantucket Island. The couple has seven dogs: yellow labs Bailey and Stoli, black lab Pimms, red lab Seagram, and corgis Stacey, Sarah, and Stephanie.