Before being elected to the Minnesota State Senate in 2006, Kathy Sheran worked in the nursing field for over 30 years, including spending several years as an assistant professor of nursing at Minnesota State University – Mankato. She served for 16 years as president of the Mankato City Council.

Due to her long history and experience in health care, Sen. Sheran has become a key figure in the health care debate at the Capitol.  During her first year, she carried and passed the history-making Freedom to Breathe Act, which expanded the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act to restaurants and bars. She has also advanced legislation to increase access to cancer screenings to those without health insurance, and recently served on several working committees for a major health care reform initiative signed into law in 2008. Senator Sheran was named the American Cancer Society’s 2008 “Legislator of the Year” and the National Alliance on Mental Illness – Minnesota 2009 “Legislator of the Year”.

As a former assistant professor and as the vice chair of the Senate Higher Education Budget Division, Sen. Sheran recognizes the vital importance of higher education to enriching the lives of students and driving the state’s economic growth. In 2008 and 2009, she was named the Minnesota State University Student Association’s “Senator of the Year”, in recognition for her commitment to students and their education. As a member of the Senate Higher Education Budget Division, Senator Sheran advocates for programs that increase access for students to healthcare professions. She is very supportive of initiatives that create new models of service delivery and expanded use of mid-level practitioners.

Sen. Sheran’s career in public service has also centered on building strong and prosperous communities.  She has served on Mankato’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority, the Economic Development Authority, and the Highway 14 Partnership.  In addition, she has been an active member of several state and national boards and committees, including the League of Minnesota Cities, the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, and the National League of Cites.  As a legislator, she has advanced several local economic-development proposals for her district, and has supported maintaining a strong state and local fiscal relationship. In 2010, Senator Sheran was appointed by the Governor as the representative from the State Senate to the State Advisory Council on Mental Health.

Today, when not serving the residents of District 23, Sen. Sheran is an equity partner in Security Management and Realty, a successful real estate development and property management firm in Mankato owned by her husband, Dean Doyscher.