Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) didn’t always want to be a politician. In fact, when she was a little girl, she dreamed of being a cowgirl. And not just any cowgirl — she wanted to be Annie Oakley, sharpshooter extraordinaire, otherwise known as “Little Miss Sure Shot.”Shaheen may not have achieved that goal (admittedly, it’s a lofty one). But after changing course a couple of times in her early career, she eventually decided to pursue public office, where she’s achieved plenty of new and arguably loftier goals, and helped a whole bunch of people in the process.The only woman in American history to be elected both a governor and a senator, Shaheen has served on the Senate since 2009 . (Fun fact: She’s also New Hampshire’s first elected female governor.) As a senator, she’s used her voice to advocate and legislate on the issues that matter to her, many of which happen to directly affect women’s lives and rights.One of the first bills Shaheen co-sponsored was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , which makes it easier for women to fight for equal pay. Passionate about protecting women in the military, she introduced — and Congress passed — 2012’s Shaheen Amendment , which provides affordable, guaranteed abortion access to servicewomen who are sexually assaulted. She was a co-sponsor of 2014’s Not My Boss’s Business Act , which preserves women’s right to receive no-co-pay birth control from their employers. In July, she eloquently spoke out on the Senate floor to denounce the GOP’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood. And in August, she publicly backed Hillary Clinton for president.As the lead Democrat on the Senate Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for European Affairs, Shaheen is also vocal about the plight of refugees in the Middle East, and America’s duty to help them. She was moved by a recent trip to Europe in which she and other delegates convened to address the Syrian refugee crisis. In fact, just the other day, she wrote a piece for Time about how America owes it to provide a “more robust U.S. response to the greatest humanitarian challenge of our time” and take in more Syrian refugees because, well, it’s the right thing to do.We interviewed Shaheen at her Capitol Hill office about career changes, work/life balance, and why more women don't — but should — run for office. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity."For about 12,000 women in New Hampshire, Planned Parenthood is where they get their health care. Without those clinics, they wouldn’t have access to any family-planning services."I think the issue has gotten distorted by opponents of abortion, because Planned Parenthood doesn’t use public dollars for abortion. Abortion is a very small percentage of what they do — most of it is preventative care, breast exams, cancer screenings.""In fact, they’re not mostly about abortion!"