Freeport resident Kathy Biberstein said she is running for Maine House District 48, the seat currently held by House Speaker and U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon. Biberstein recently retired from a 30-year career as an executive in the biotechnology industry.

“As I speak to the people in our community about their priorities, I have been inspired by their passion for our towns and their vision for Maine’s future,” said Biberstein in a news release. “And I intend to dedicate my energy to preserving what makes Maine special while laying the building blocks for a strong future for our community and our children. Creating an innovation ecosystem in Maine is part of that strong future. Maine has many of the elements in place to make it an attractive location for technology companies. Fostering training, internships, and research grants will be important to tipping the scales in Maine’s direction.”

Biberstein began her career in the automotive industry as an engineer at General Motors, where she worked on an early prototype of Chevrolet’s all-electric vehicle, according to the release. She practiced law in Boston before moving to Switzerland to work as legal counsel and a member of the executive committee of the World Economic Forum.

Biberstein began working in and specializing in biotechnology while in Switzerland, but decided to move to Freeport almost 20 years ago to raise her two sons. She served as chief lawyer for a public biotech company, and eventually became a senior executive of the company.

Biberstein is currently on the Board of Directors of Meridian Stories, a non-profit whose mission is to teach students digital literacy, and the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Freeport. She is also collaborating with Focus Maine.