Denise Andrews (born July 14, 1959) is an

American politician In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legis ...

from

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as "western Mass," is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and univ ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, she was a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

representing the 2nd Franklin district from 2011 to 2015. The 2nd Franklin district comprises twelve communities, Athol, Belchertown precinct A, Erving, Gill, New Salem, Orange, Petersham, Phillipston, Royalston, Templeton, Warwick, and Wendell. Andrews, was born in Orange and lives there with her wife Candi Fetzer. Andrews earned a bachelor's degree from

UMass Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the Ma ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

before embarking on a 25-year career with

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

(P&G). Her first P&G positions were in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, and she later moved to the company's headquarters in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. She left P&G in 2006 after four years as the company's global diversity & inclusion manager. She then established her own consulting business, Legacy Unlimited. Following incumbent state representative Chris Donelan's announcement that he would run for Franklin County sheriff rather than seek re-election in 2010, Andrews launched a bid to succeed him in the state house. In the Democratic primary election held on September 14, 2010, Andrews polled 37% in a five candidate race, finishing 519 votes ahead of the second-place finisher, who took 24%. In the general election held on November 2, she polled 6,885 (53%), finishing over 1,300 votes ahead of the Republican nominee (who took 42%) and an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

(on 5%). She first took office on January 5, 2011. She was defeated for re-election by Republican Susannah Whipps Lee in November 2014; her term ended January 7, 2015.

References

External links

Legislative profile

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Denise 1959 births Living people People from Orange, Massachusetts Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives American lesbian politicians University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Xavier University alumni LGBTQ state legislators in Massachusetts Women state legislators in Massachusetts 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century members of the Massachusetts General Court