Kathleen A. "Kathy" Brynaert (born July 15, 1944) is a

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

politician and former member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota affiliated with the national Democratic Party. The party was formed by a merger between the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minneso ...

(DFL), she represented District 19B, which includes

Blue Earth County Blue Earth County is a county in the state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,112. Its county seat is Mankato. The county is named for the Blue Earth River and for the deposits of blue-green clay once evident along the ...

in south-central Minnesota. She is also a youth development leader and a former educator.

Early life, education, and career

Brynaert attended high school in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, then went on to the College of St. Teresa in Winona, receiving her

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in philosophy. She later earned her

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in philosophy at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. She is a former

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

. She has worked as a homemaker, an office clerk, editor and surveyor for a planning firm, a playground and lunchroom supervisor for Independent School District 77, and director of parent education for the Council for Health Action and Promotion. From 1995-2006, she served as a member, vice chair and chair of the

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

Area School Board. She was also an assembly delegate to the Minnesota School Board Association during this time. Active in her local community, Brynaert is a former volunteer for the Mankato Food Cooperative, a former member of the Business Education Committee of the Mankato

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

, a former member and vice chair of the South Central Service Cooperative Board, and a member of the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

Vision Council. She has long been an advocate for youth, serving as a member of the Educare Foundation, as Youth Service Committee chair for the Downtown Mankato

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...

, as a founding member and chair of Mankato Area Healthy Youth, and as chair of the 'How Are the Children?' Project. She was co-chair of the Envision 2020 Transportation Committee in 2006.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Brynaert was first elected in 2006 and was re-elected in 2008, 2010, and 2012. She announced on March 23, 2014 that she would not seek re-election.

References

External links

Rep. Kathy Brynaert
''official Minnesota House of Representatives website''
Kathy Brynaert
''official campaign website''
Project Votesmart - Rep. Kathy Brynaert Profile

Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Kathy Brynaert

Session Weekly 1/19/2007: "Continuing on her path: Brynaert moves from school board to statehouse"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brynaert, Kathy 1944 births Living people Politicians from Mankato, Minnesota Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Women state legislators in Minnesota 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature