Meet Kimberly - Kimberly Yee for Arizona

Homegrown Arizona Roots

With deep roots in Arizona, Kimberly Yee was born and raised in Arizona and comes from a family of small business owners. Her grandparents began their family and business in Arizona during the 1930s and opened New State Market grocery store in South Phoenix, building a successful business and community landmark that operated for over 60 years. Kimberly’s grandparents raised nine children and emphasized the importance of education. Five of the nine children dedicated their careers in the area of public school education.

Kimberly’s mother is a former Arizona public school teacher who taught elementary school for 38 years in Title I schools in South Phoenix, and her father is a U.S. Army Veteran and small business owner. Living out the American Dream, Kimberly learned the importance of working hard and giving back to the community, state and country that gave so much to her family.

Growing up in Phoenix, Kimberly attended public elementary and high school. She worked her way through college and graduate school, attending Pepperdine University with degrees in English and Political Science, and Arizona State University with a Master’s degree in Public Administration. She served in the Republican administrations of two former governors and a former state treasurer, carrying out conservative public policies in the areas of education, finance and workforce development.

Education Policy Experience

In her early career, Kimberly’s extensive public policy experience focused on grades K-12, higher education and school choice policies. As a longtime, senior research analyst and staff member for the Arizona Senate Education Committee, Kimberly helped write some of the earliest laws written in the 1990s to expand the scope and protections of school choice, including open enrollment, charter schools and homeschools. During the two gubernatorial appointments where she served under Republican governors, her work included childcare and development policies, K-12 academic content standards, as well as career and college ready workforce skills, including vocational education.

Kimberly ran for office in 2010 and became the first Asian American woman elected to the Arizona Legislature in the state’s history, representing the district where she was born and raised. By a unanimous vote, Kimberly was elected the second female Senate Majority Leader in the state’s history following Sandra Day O’Connor, who served in 1973 as the first female Senate Majority Leader, 44 years earlier. She has been named by Congressional Quarterly’s Roll Call as one of the “25 Most Influential Women in State Politics.”

During her time in the Arizona Legislature, Kimberly served as the Chairwoman of the Arizona Senate Education Committee where she sponsored legislation to recognize public schools, including traditional district schools and charter schools. She has been a longtime school choice advocate and sponsored legislation to expand eligibility requirements of students using Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, including students from low-income families.

Kimberly is the recipient of the Friend of the Taxpayer Award, the Friend of the Family Award, the Golden Apple Award, and multiple School Choice Champion Awards, and she was honored as one of the 48 Most Intriguing Women in Arizona in a book sponsored by the Arizona Centennial Legacy Project.

Increasing Education Funds

As Treasurer of Arizona, Kimberly is the highest ranking statewide elected Republican in Arizona and has increased total investment earnings to over $4.5 billion. Kimberly led the Treasury’s historic, record-high performance for earnings under the state land endowment, primarily distributed to Arizona schools. Under Kimberly’s leadership, the Arizona Treasury has earned and distributed over $2.43 billion to Arizona schools.

Kimberly was elected State Treasurer of Arizona in 2018, becoming the first Asian American elected to statewide office in Arizona’s history. She is also the first Chinese American Republican woman ever elected to any major statewide office in the history of the United States. In the 2018 general election, she received the second most votes of any winning Arizona statewide candidate on the ballot. In 2022, Kimberly was elected to her second term as State Treasurer of Arizona and received the most votes of any contested statewide candidate on the ballot, receiving a record-high of nearly 1.4 million votes.

Bringing years of experience to public budgeting and executive agency management, Kimberly is a longtime advocate of financial education. She sponsored legislation to add financial literacy in the K-12 academic standards in schools. As Treasurer, she advanced a law that requires high school students to complete a semester of personal money management before graduation. She continues this work as the Chairwoman of Arizona’s first-ever Financial Literacy Task Force, to expand the awareness of personal money management with students, senior citizens, veterans and vulnerable families.

As administrator of the statewide AZ529 Education Savings Plan, since October 2020, Kimberly has grown assets by historic numbers. In just 54 months, Arizona 529 accounts have increased by 54,178 new accounts with $2.46 billion in assets under management, helping families save for higher education and workforce development to build a stronger economy in Arizona.

Family

Kimberly is blessed to be a wife and mother. She and her husband own a small local business, so they understand the importance of a high-quality education system that prepares graduates to be ready and skilled to build a strong economy for Arizona. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, and volunteers in her church and community. Kimberly has served as a Sunday School teacher and helps in her church’s music ministry and children’s programs.

Over the years, Kimberly has maintained a distinguished reputation as a trusted leader in pubic service, a school choice advocate, and a taxpayer watchdog. She is a conservative Republican with a long record of accomplishments, and is well-known around the State Capitol as an education policy expert and fiscal conservative who always puts the taxpayer first.

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