Nancy Pelosi

         
          "She was born March 26, 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland, and continued her family's tradition of being involved in politics. She began volunteering and gradually moved up the ranks, making the leap to public office in a special election for California's eighth district in 1987. She became the first female Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives and the first female Speaker of the House. Under the leadership of Pelosi, the 111th Congress was heralded as "one of the most productive Congresses in history" by Congressional scholar Norman Ornstein. President Barack Obama called Speaker Pelosi “an extraordinary leader for the American people," and the Christian Science Monitor wrote: “…make no mistake: Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful woman in American politics and the most powerful House Speaker since Sam Rayburn a half century ago.”