| Katherine S. Kazarian (D) has served the residents of East Providence and Pawtucket in District 63 since first being elected in November 2012. In January 2021, she was elected by her Democratic colleagues as the House Majority Whip, the third highest-ranking position on the House Leadership Team. She is a member of the House State Government and Elections Committee, the Municipal Government and Housing Committee, the House Rules Committee, and the House Special Legislation Committee.
In 2024, Whip Kazarian introduced a new law that requires regular monthly updates from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation on the state of the Washington Bridge. She also introduced another new law that allows local wineries to sell up to three five-ounce glasses and three 750-ml bottles per customer per day on site.
During the 2023 legislative session, Whip Kazarian sponsored the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act. The new law provides insurance coverage for abortion care to individuals on Medicaid as well as state employees. She also sponsored another new law which protects domestic violence victims from abusive litigation.
In 2023, Whip Kazarian was honored by Common Cause RI with its "Excellence in Public Service Award" for her sponsorship of the "Let RI Vote Act" in 2022. The law expands voter access while ensuring the integrity of Rhode Island elections. The Let RI Vote Act makes mail voting easier by allowing online mail ballot applications and permitting any voter to use a mail ballot or an emergency mail ballot without needing an excuse for why they can't visit their polling location on Election Day.
With eight great-grandparents who survived the Armenian Genocide of 1915, Whip Kazarian and her family have been very active in Rhode Island's Armenian community. She was the sponsor of legislation which made Holocaust and Genocide education mandatory in all of the state's middle schools and high schools.
Whip Kazarian has a strong background in the tech field, having worked at both Upserve and Virgin Pulse, and was previously a Senior Planner for the City of Pawtucket. She is a gradute of the Roger Williams University School of Law and currently works as an Associate Attorney at CMBG3 Law in Boston.
Whip Kazarian received a bachelor's degree in urban studies and economics from Columbia University's Barnard College and was inspired to run for office by President Barack Obama's commencement address to her graduating class in 2012. She graduated from St. Mary Academy Bay View in East Providence in 2008.
She was born on June 25, 1990, and is a lifelong resident of East Providence. She is married to Sam Daniel. |