Rep. Catherine H. Miranda | Arizona 2013

Phone: (602) 926-4893

Fax: (602) 417-3116

Office Address:
Room 329
1700 W. Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Catherine Hernandez Miranda comes from a family of four sisters and one brother. Family roots in District 16 began with her mother Ysabel Santana Hernandez' passion for church work at St. Catherine's and Immaculate Heart Church. Her father, Robert Hernandez, a Korean War paratrooper in the 11th American Airborne was a proud member of American Legion Post 41. Another bond with District 16 was her father's construction work; building Ocotillo Library and Salvation Army center.
Raised in the Jorgenson neighborhood near Bishop Henry Barnwell's Missionary Baptist church where her athletic talents took her from all star fame, to East High basketball and scholarship offers from South Mountain Community College and Arizona State University.
Catherine worked at South Mountain High school under principals René Diaz and Josephine Pete. Graduating from ASU with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary education, she taught in the Roosevelt District. In 2004 she received her Master's in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University and promoted to assistant principal. She's been administrator in Washington and Cartwright school Districts.
Catherine is in her first term of the State Legislature as a representative from district 16. Her legislative priority is education with a special focus on Dream Act students. In 2011, Catherine was appointed by State House Speaker, Andy Tobin to the Education Ad Hoc Committee whose purpose is to recommend an effective data system for the state of Arizona. Catherine has also been selected to serve on the Board of Directors with National Association of Latino Elected Officials. NALEO is the largest and longest existing Latino elected officials organization in the United States. Among her appointments is also her seat on the Executive Committee on the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. She has also been named chairwoman for the International Relations, Trade, and Immigration Task Force with NHCSL. In 2008 Catherine was elected by the widest margin to the Roosevelt School Board. Roosevelt is the largest and oldest school district in the South Mountain community.
Catherine is co-founder of the Manzana Foundation which helps students prepare for college. The Manzana Foundation recently joined a partnership with Navajo Technical College to extend accredited courses into the Phoenix area. Catherine's passion in education has given DreamAct students an opportunity to continue their education at an affordable price through this partnership. People most important to Catherine is her husband Ben and her two children Gavin and Star.