Andrea Seastrand

Andrea Heidi Seastrand (née Ciszek; born August 5, 1941) is a former one-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1995 to 1997.

Seastrand was born Andrea Heidi Ciszek in Chicago.

She graduated from DePaul University in 1963 with a B.A. in education, and then moved to Salinas, California to find work as an elementary school teacher.

In 1965, she married Eric Seastrand, a stockbroker, and the couple had two children named Kurt and Heidi.

From 1982 to 1990, when her husband served in the California State Assembly as a Republican, Seastrand joined the California Federation of Republican Women, later becoming its president.

In 1990, Eric Seastrand died of cancer, and Andrea won a special election to succeed him, receiving 65 per cent of the vote.

She remained a member of assembly for the next four years, serving on the education committee and as assistant minority leader.

Seastrand was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, narrowly defeating Theology professor Walter Capps and succeeding fellow Republican Michael Huffington.

Considered one of the more conservative members of the 104th Congress, she faced Capps again in 1996 and was defeated.

In 1997, after her departure from Congress, Seastrand founded the California Space and Technology Alliance—a private nonprofit focused on promoting California's participation in space ventures—which later became the California Space Authority.

She remained executive director of the organization from its creation until its dissolution in 2011.