Donna Marie Christian-Christensen, formerly Donna Christian-Green (born September 19, 1945), is an American physician and politician. She served as the 4th elected non-voting

Delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

from the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

's at-large district to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1997 until 2015.

Biography

Early life

Born Donna Christian in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

, she is the daughter of a Virgin Islands Federal District Court judge, Almeric Christian. She received her Bachelor of Science from St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana in 1966. Christensen then attended the

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

School of Medicine in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where she received an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

in 1970.Donna Christian-Christensen
''

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates from ...

''. Retrieved December 5, 2007. She interned at San Francisco's Pacific Medical Center from 1970 to 1971 and performed her residency in family medicine at Howard University Medical Center from 1973 to 1974.

Career

Donna Christian-Christensen worked as a physician, first in the emergency room and later in the maternity ward. She then served as medical director for the St. Croix Hospital in

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

, Virgin Islands. She was the Acting Commissioner of Health for the Virgin Islands in 1993 and 1994 and also ran a private medical practice until 1996. Christian was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

s from 1994 through 2012 elections. She has also previously served on the Status Commission and the Board of Education for the USVI. She was also active in community organizations in the Virgin Islands, working to protect St. Croix from overdevelopment, and leading an effort to improve the quality of local judicial appointments.

U.S. House of Representatives

Donna Christian-Christensen ran unsuccessfully for the position of USVI delegate in 1994, losing in the primary to former judge Eileen Petersen. She won a three-way race beating Victor Frazer, an Independent. That race also included future Governor

Kenneth Mapp Kenneth Ezra Mapp (born November 2, 1955) is an American politician who served as the eighth elected Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, from 2015 to 2019. He is registered Republican,

, who would defeat Christensen in 2014 during the Governor race. However, she was elected as 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the House in a 1996 runoff with Frazer and served from January 3, 1997, to January 3, 2015. Christian-Christensen has supported Obama's

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...

. Shortly before the Supreme Court affirmed the legislation, she said "For 99 years, presidents have been trying to do this. Finally, our president has made it possible for each and every American." Donna Christian-Christensen is a member of the

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...

and the

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Cau ...

. She was featured on

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

's '' Better Know a Protectorate'' segment. She is also the first female physician to win a congressional election.

Elections

;2008 During the 2008 electoral campaign, she appeared in a TV advertisement endorsing the reelection of neighboring

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

Governor

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus (LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Puer ...

, who went to trial after the November 2008 elections for a twenty-four-count federal Grand Jury indictment for corruption. The jury found him not guilty, though he did lose his bid for re-election. ;2010 Christian-Christensen won her 2010 reelection campaign with 71.22% of the vote. ;2012 Christian-Christensen received substantial donations, at least $37,000 dollars, for her re-election from sources that are connected to Jeffrey Thompson, the chartered health services chairman. However, since he had recently come under fire for a scandal, this money may have been considered to be "pecunia non grata" (unwanted money). Soon after, Thompson's firm was awarded a $6.3 million government contract in the Virgin Islands, Christensen's home district. Nonetheless, Christian-Christensen won her 2012 re-election bid with 60.05% of the vote. ;2014 Christian-Christensen did not seek re-election to her congressional seat. Instead, she ran for

Governor of the United States Virgin Islands The governor of the United States Virgin Islands is the head of government of the United States Virgin Islands whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Territory addresses to the Virgin Islands Legislature, submitting ...

, ultimately losing to

in a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

Committee assignments

Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

** Subcommittee on Communications and Technology ** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Caucus memberships

*Congressional Black Caucus *Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues *Congressional Progressive Caucus *Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus * International Conservation Caucus *Congressional Arts Caucus

Honors and recognitions

On March 23, 2009, Delegate Christensen became the

Ship Sponsor A ship sponsor, by tradition, is a female civilian who is invited to "sponsor" a vessel, presumably to bestow good luck and divine protection over the seagoing vessel and all that sail aboard. In the United States Navy and the United States Coast ...

of the USCGC ''Reef Shark'' during the vessel's commissioning ceremony in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

. The ''Reef Shark'' is a new 87' cutter, built at an approximate cost of $7.5 million by Bollinger Shipyards in

Lockport, Louisiana Lockport is a town on Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,490 in 2020. It is part of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. History Lockport, founded in 1835, ...

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian-Christensen, Donna 1945 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American women in politics American people of the Moravian Church Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from the United States Virgin Islands Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from the United States Virgin Islands Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands politicians Female members of the United States House of Representatives George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences alumni Living people Physicians from the United States Virgin Islands People from Teaneck, New Jersey Saint Mary's College (Indiana) alumni United States Virgin Islands people of the Moravian Church United States Virgin Islands women in politics American people of United States Virgin Islands descent African-American women physicians African-American physicians 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians 21st-century American women physicians 21st-century American physicians