Senator Cathy Giessel Contact information

Cathy Giessel, born Catherine Andrea Bohms on November 9, 1951, is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. She has served as a member of the Alaska Senate since 2023 and previously from 2011 to 2021.

Born in Fairbanks, Alaska, Cathy is the oldest of three daughters born to Gerald Johnson “Jerry” and Ruth Odelia Bohms. Jerry Bohms arrived in Alaska in the late 1940s and worked for Wien Alaska Airlines. Ruth Bohms holds a degree from Gonzaga University School of Law and was admitted before the bars of Alaska and the United States Supreme Court.

Cathy graduated from Lathrop High School in Fairbanks and gained a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Michigan before moving to Anchorage in 1974. She worked as an advanced nurse practitioner across a variety of clinics in Anchorage and the North Slope Borough and continues to do healthcare consulting. She also gained a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2000.

From 2013 to 2021, Giessel represented District N in the Alaska Senate, including Northeast Anchorage, Anchorage Hillside and the Turnagain Arm communities of Bird, Girdwood, Indian, and Anchorage, all within the Municipality of Anchorage. First elected in 2010 while identifying with Tea Party values, she has also served as the vice-chair of the state Republican Party and had a career in nursing.

Following redistricting, she was elected to a different senate seat in 2012. Giessel serves as chair of the Resources Committee and is a member of the Senate Majority Caucus. After Senate President Pete Kelly was unseated in 2018, Giessel was elected president of the Alaska Senate, a post she held until 2021.

Giessel returned to the Alaska Senate in 2023, representing the newly configured District E after defeating incumbent Republican Roger Holland. She will serve as Senate majority leader in the 33rd Legislature, overseeing a coalition caucus of eight Republicans and nine Democrats.