Cathy Giessel was born in the Territory of Alaska and raised in Fairbanks, where she attended Fairbanks Catholic School before graduating from Lathrop High School.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

A registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioner in family practice, Cathy has served patients across Anchorage, the MatSu Valley, and rural Alaska throughout her career.

Cathy has served 16 years in the Alaska Senate, representing communities across Southcentral Alaska including Eagle River, Hiland Road, East Anchorage, Stuckagain Heights, the Anchorage Hillside, Indian, Bird, Girdwood, Whittier, Hope, Seward, Moose Pass, Cooper Landing, Sterling, and Nikiski.

She served as Senate President and currently serves as Senate Majority Leader. In 2007 she was named Anchorage Republican Woman of the Year, and in 2010 the National Council of State Boards of Nursing recognized her as an exceptional leader.

Cathy stays deeply involved in her community. She volunteers with a behavioral health board, a school-based clinic, health fairs, foster care, and faith-based youth programs.

She and her husband Richard have been married 52 years. They have three married children and seven grandchildren.