Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician who is the 38th and current Governor of Oregon. Brown, a Democrat and an attorney, previously served as Oregon Secretary of State and as majority leader of the Oregon State Senate, where she represented portions of Milwaukie and of Northeast and Southeast Portland. Brown became governor on February 18, 2015, succeeding John Kitzhaber upon his resignation. She is the state's second elected female governor, after Barbara Roberts (1991–1995), as well as the first openly bisexual governor in US history. Her win in the 2016 special election for governor made her the first openly bisexual person elected as a United States governor (and the first openly LGBT person elected as such). Brown is running for a full term as governor in 2018.