Steve Gunderson (born May 10, 1951 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin), is the President and CEO of the Council on Foundations and a former Republican Congressman from Wisconsin. Having studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he went on to serve in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1975 to 1979, before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980. Representing Wisconsin's Third Congressional District, he served eight terms in the House and did not seek re-election to the 105th Congress in 1996.
He was one of the first openly gay members of Congress, the first Republican. In 1996, Gunderson was the only Republican in Congress to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act and since leaving Congress he has been a vocal supporter of gay rights causes.
