Michelle "Shelly" Christensen is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician and former member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Represen ...

(DFL), she represented District 39B in the eastern

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

metropolitan area.

Early life and education

Christensen was raised in

Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota Marine on St. Croix is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 689 at the 2010 census. It was founded in 1839 as Marine Mills. The city was the site of the first commercial sawmill on the St. Croix River. A ...

and graduated from

Stillwater Area High School Stillwater Area High School (SAHS) is a public school located in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, United States. It serves as the primary high school for the Stillwater Area Public School District (834), the oldest public school district in Minnesota ...

in 1973. She attended the

University of Wisconsin–River Falls The University of Wisconsin–River Falls (UW–River Falls or UWRF) is a public university in River Falls, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. The campus is situated on the Kinnickinnic River (St. Croix River), Kinnic ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in secondary English and

Aspen University Aspen University is a United States-based private, for-profit, nationally accredited online university that was established in 1987. Aspen University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing, education, computer science, technolog ...

, graduating with a Master of Arts in education.

Career

Christensen taught English at

and Stillwater Area Junior High for 16 years. Christensen was first elected to the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, defeating

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent

Kathy Lohmer Kathy M. Lohmer (born January 15, 1954) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represented District 39B, which includes portions of Washington Co ...

. After serving two terms, she opted against running for reelection in 2022.

Personal life

Christensen and her husband, Scott, have one child. She resides in

Stillwater, Minnesota Stillwater is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Washington County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, on the west bank of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), St. Croix River, across from H ...

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Shelly Living people Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Minnesota Year of birth missing (living people) University of Wisconsin–River Falls alumni 21st-century Minnesota politicians