Furtado ran for re-election in 2010, but was defeated by Republican Jim Denning.
Since 2007 she served on the Boards of the TriCounty Smart Start, Kansas Health Solutions, CASA of Johnson and Wyandotte Counties, Johnson County Nursing Center, Public Health Partners and Aging Information.
[1] Furtado served as the president of the League of Women Voters (LWV) during the period that when Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach tried to increase restrictions of voting rights.
The LWV, the Kansas American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the intervenor Brennan Center for Justice prevailed in the case.
"[2] She received her Bachelor's in Bacteriology from Cornell University and her Master's and PhD in Microbiology from the University of Michigan.