About
Katharine Sarah Gallego is an American politician serving as the 62nd mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served on the Phoenix City Council from 2014 to 2018. Gallego grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[2] Her parents are attorneys who moved to Albuquerque from Chicago after the 1979 Chicago blizzard.[3][4] She grew up with asthma, which made air quality important to her.[5] Gallego graduated from Albuquerque Academy, where she served as student body vice president.[3] She earned a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from Harvard College and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Gallego worked for the Arizona Democratic Party, the Arizona Office of Tourism, as well as on economic development and strategic planning for the Salt River Project. On November 5, 2013, Gallego was elected to the Phoenix City Council for the 8th district; she was reelected in 2017. With Greg Stanton, the Mayor of Phoenix, running for the United States House of Representatives in the 2018 elections, Gallego announced she would run in a special election to succeed him.