Nancy Erickson is an American political aide who served as the 32nd

Secretary of the United States Senate The secretary of the Senate is an officer of the United States Senate. The secretary supervises an extensive array of offices and services to expedite the day-to-day operations of that body. The office is somewhat analogous to that of the clerk ...

from 2007 to 2015. She began her term as Secretary on January 4, 2007, in the

110th Congress The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of ...

. Erickson was appointed by Democratic and Majority Leader

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...

of Nevada.

Early life and education

A native of

Brandon, South Dakota Brandon is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. Brandon is located five miles east of Sioux Falls. The population was 11,048 as of the 2020 census. History A post office called Brandon has been in operation since 1878. The c ...

, Erickson earned a Bachelor of Arts from

Augustana University Augustana University is a private Lutheran university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The university identifies 1860 as the year of its founding, the same as its Rock Island, Illinois Swedish-heritage sister school, Augustana College. It derives ...

and a Master of Arts from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

Career

Prior to serving as Secretary of the Senate, Erickson served as the Democratic Representative to the

Sergeant at Arms Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. She also served as the deputy chief of staff to former Senate majority leader

Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he became U.S. Senate Minority Leader in 1995 an ...

. On January 6, 2009, Erickson rejected

Roland Burris Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is an American politician and attorney who is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. In 1978, Burris was the first African American elected to ...

's request to be seated as the junior U.S. senator from Illinois. She stated that his credentials were incomplete because they were not signed by the

Illinois Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, libr ...

, Jesse White. White refused to sign because the appointment was made by Illinois Governor

Rod Blagojevich Rod Blagojevich ( , born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nicknames "Blago" or "B-Rod", is an American former politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, when ...

, who was charged in a corruption scandal with seeking to personally gain from the appointment.

Personal life

Erickson is married to Thomas J. Erickson, an attorney who served as a Commissioner of the

Commodity Futures Trading Commission The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options. The Commodity Exchange Ac ...

from 1999 to 2004.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Augustana University alumni American University alumni Secretaries of the United States Senate {{US-Congress-stub People from Brandon, South Dakota