Gabrielle Giffords - Early Life, Education, and Business Career

Early Life, Education, and Business Career

Giffords was born in Tucson, Arizona, to Gloria Kay (née Fraser) and Spencer J. Giffords. She was raised in a mixed religious environment by her Jewish father and Christian Science-practicing mother. Her grandfather, Akiba Hornstein, was a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania who changed his name to Giffords to avoid anti-Semitism. She has identified herself solely with Judaism since 2001, belonging to Congregation Chaverim, a Reform synagogue, in Tucson. She is Arizona's first Jewish congresswoman.

Giffords graduated from Tucson's University High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts' degree in Sociology and Latin American History from Scripps College in California in 1993; then spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico; and earned a Master's degree in Regional Planning from Cornell University in 1996, focussing her studies there on Mexican-American relations. She is a former Girl Scout.

Giffords worked as an associate for regional economic development at Price Waterhouse in New York City. In 1996, she became president and CEO of El Campo Tire Warehouses, a local chain of auto service centers founded by her grandfather. The business was sold to Goodyear Tire in 2000. At the time of the sale, she commented on the difficulties local businesses face when competing against large national firms.