Kate Brophy McGee
…was born into a ranching family and grew up in Bisbee and Tucson, Arizona. She is one of seven siblings. Kate graduated with honors from the University of Arizona in 1977 with a major in history and a minor in Spanish. The expenses of her final three years in college were largely financed by full-time employment. Kate entered the Arizona Bank’s management training program in 1978, where she quickly progressed from consumer lending to commercial lending. Kate worked for three Arizona banks during her twelve years in banking, ending as a bank vice president and senior commercial loan officer. She left banking when her first child was born.
Over the next thirteen years Kate devoted her time to her husband, Bob, and their three sons. She worked part time as an accountant and consultant for various small businesses and non-profit organizations, specifically churches, and became active in her children’s schools. In 1999 Kate was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Washington Elementary School District Governing Board. She subsequently ran for election in 2000, and reelection in 2004. She was the top vote recipient in both contested elections, and won all 99 precincts in the 2004 election. Kate served four terms as Governing Board President and two terms as Clerk of the Board. For most of her tenure she also served as the Governing Board’s representative to the Washington Elementary Trust Board, which manages the District’s three self-insured trusts for employee benefits, casualty and worker’s compensation. Kate retired from the Board in 2007. In 2008, the District presented Kate the Lamp of Learning Award, the District’s highest honor, in recognition of her outstanding service to the children of the District.
In 2001, Governor Jane Hull appointed Kate as the state’s only school board representative to the nine-member Arizona School Facilities Board (ASFB). In 2005 Governor Janet Napolitano appointed Kate ASFB Chair, and she served in that capacity until her resignation from the ASFB in 2006.
In 2010, Kate was elected a State Representative for Legislative District 11 (now District 28), covering North Central Phoenix, Arcadia and the Town of Paradise Valley. She serves as Vice Chair of the House Energy & Natural Resources Committee and is a member of the Health & Human Services Committee and Agriculture & Water Committee. She is a member of the Arizona Attorney General’s Task Force Against Senior Abuse and a member of a City of Phoenix task force focused on preventing animal cruelty. During her first term, Kate received numerous awards and honors for her legislative work, including Outstanding Freshman Legislator (Arizona Association of Providers for People with Disabilities); Capitol Times 2011 Public Policy Leader; Friend of Cities and Towns for 2011 and the Arizona Cancer Action Network’s inaugural Pearls of Wisdom Award – 2012.
Kate is a member of Phoenix Rotary 100, the Flinn Foundation’s Bio Sciences Roadmap Steering Committee and the Board of Directors for the Arizona Citizens for the Arts. She previously served as president of her homeowners’ association board. In addition, she is a cofounder of Sunnyslope Graffiti Fighters, a partnership of neighborhood leaders, City of Phoenix Neighborhood Services, and Sunnyslope High School National Honor Society students that combats graffiti and neighborhood blight. Kate was honored with a Partnership Award from the City of Phoenix Neighborhood Services and a Caring Community Award from the Phoenix Block Watch Advisory Board for her work with Sunnyslope Graffiti Fighters. Kate is a member of Betty’s Kids, a committee formed to honor the distinguished and beloved neighborhood leader Betty Bellanger and carry on her legacies on behalf of Desert View Elementary School, the neighborhood and the afterschool program. She volunteers in the afterschool program at Desert View every week. Kate has also been recognized over the years for her volunteer work for the Sunnyslope High School Wrestling Team. Most recently, Kate founded the Scouts at the Capitol program, where Boy Scouts from around Arizona earn their Citizenship in the Nation merit badge.
Kate has been a Republican Precinct Committeeman since 1999. She served on the Republican Legislative District 11 (now District 28) Executive Committee and is a Republican State Committeeman. She has volunteered on numerous election campaigns for Republican and non-partisan candidates at the local, state and federal levels. Kate has been a member of the Central Republican Women’s Club since 1999, served as Club President in 2010 and currently serves as the Club’s First Vice Chair.
Kate’s husband, Bob McGee, is a fourth generation community banker who moved to Arizona in 1956. Bob is President and CEO of Southwestern Business Financing Corporation, one of the largest SBA lenders in Arizona, and one of the top 25% of SBA 504 lenders in the country. In 2003 Bob was named the SBA Financial Services Advocate of the year. In 2008 Arizona Business Magazine recognized Bob as one of the ten most influential bankers in Arizona. Bob’s company was recently named the number one SBA lender in the state for the tenth year in a row.
Kate and Bob have three sons. R.J., 25, recently graduated with a degree in industrial and mechanical engineering from Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo, California, passed the Engineer in Training exam and entered the University of Arizona Law School in fall, 2011; Jack, 22, is commencing his fourth year at Northern Arizona University. Jack is on the Dean’s list and majoring in anthropology, with a minor in Biology and History. Sam, 20, is commencing his third year at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, majoring in psychology, with a minor in German.
