Gina Marie Raimondo was born on May 17, 1971, in Smithfield, Rhode Island, the youngest child of an Italian American family. She was raised in Smithfield and later attended Harvard University, graduating with the bachelor’s degree in economics. She was a Rhodes Scholar and attended New College at Oxford University. In 1998, she completed her law degree at Yale Law School.

After finishing her education, Raimondo clerked for US District Judge Kimba Wood in the Southern District of New York. She then worked for a venture capital company, before returning to Rhode Island to start her own venture capital company, cofounding Point Judith Capital in 2002. 

In 2010, Raimondo won election as the treasurer of Rhode Island. She served one term and then ran for governor of the state in 2014. She was elected and took office in January 2015, becoming the first woman governor of Rhode Island. She won reelection in 2014. As governor, Raimondo focused on creating jobs, improving education, and helping Rhode Islanders weather the Covid-19 pandemic. 

After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, he announced that he was appointing Raimondo to the position of secretary of the Department of Commerce. The US Senate confirmed her position by a vote of 84 to 15, and she was sworn in as the 40^th secretary of Commerce on March 3, 2021. Secretary Raimondo pledged to focus on creating high-paying jobs and helping to make American workers and companies competitive in the global market.