Kristina Keneally

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Kristina Keneally is the first United States of America-born member of the New South Wales Parliament. In 2003 she was an Australian Labor Party (ALP) candidate elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Heffron, succeeding Deirdre Grusovin.

Born Kristina Kerscher and educated at the Notre Dame Academy, Toledo, Ohio and at the Marianist Catholic University of Dayton (Ohio), where she received her baccalaureate in 1991 and her masters degree in 1994.

She also studied at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and at the Australian Catholic University in Strathfield, New South Wales, Kristina Kerscher married Ben Keneally and emigrated to Australia in 1994; she became a naturalised Australian in 2000, when she also joined the ALP.

She was a member of the Teamsters Union, and the Australian Services Union and was President of National Association of Students at Catholic Colleges and Universities 1990-91 (see [1]). She was rumoured to have connections to Opus Dei, which she denied (see [2]).

She and her husband have two surviving sons, Daniel and Brendan (a daughter predeceased them). Her husband is the nephew of famous Australian novelist Thomas Keneally.