Samantha Sencer-Mura
Samantha Sencer-Mura (born February 2, 1989) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Sencer-Mura represents District 63A in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes parts of Minneapolis in Hennepin County. Early life, education and career 
A fourth-generation Japanese-American, Sencer-Mura was raised in Minneapolis and attended South High School. Her father is David Mura, a poet and playwright. Her grandparents were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II. Sencer-Mura earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in social justice and critical theory from Occidental College and a Master of Education in school leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Sencer-Mura began her career as a teacher at Citizen Schools in New York City. She later worked as a coordinator at Safe Passages and community schools director of United for Success Academy in Oakland, California. In 2017, Sencer-Mura returned to Minneapolis to join 826 MSP, a nonprofit after-school program, as executive director. Minnesota House of Representatives 
Sencer-Mura was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2022. She first ran for an open seat created by legislative redistricting and the retirement of 11-term DFL incumbent Jim Davnie. She is the first Japanese-American elected to the state legislature. Sencer-Mura serves on the Agriculture Finance and Policy, Education Finance, Workforce Development Finance and Policy, and Transportation Finance and Policy Committees. She is a member of the House People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus and the Minnesota Asian and Pacific (MAP) Caucus. Political positions 
During the 2023 session, Sencer-Mura sponsored anti-hate crime legislation that would provide money to better track bias crimes and fund law enforcement trainings, citing anti-Asian backlash related to COVID-19's origins and saying "our communities are living in this state of red alert". Sencer-Mura wrote a bill that would require Minnesota high schools offer an ethnic studies course, saying, "students of all racial and ethnic identities benefit from ethnic studies". She sponsored a transit safety bill after an 87-year-old woman in her district was injured while using public transit. Electoral history

Personal life 
Sencer-Mura lives in Minneapolis with her partner, Lance, and has one child. References

External links 

Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Living people
American politicians of Japanese descent
American women of Japanese descent in politics
Minnesota Democrats
Women state legislators in Minnesota
Politicians from Minneapolis
Occidental College alumni
Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni
Educators from Minnesota

1989 births