City & State Pennsylvania 032122

Above & Beyond Nina Ahmad, Rebecca Rhynhart and 38 other groundbreaking women of Pennsylvania

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March 21, 2022

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Contents | MARCH 21, 2022

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SEAN SIMMERS/PENNLIVE.COM

CITY HALL SHAKEUPS Across Pennsylvania, women are becoming mayors at record rates

Finding unexpected sustenance in the buffet line

A Q&A with one of the Republican candidates vying for U.S. Senate

CARLA SANDS … 10

ABOVE & BEYOND ... 19

FIRST READ … 7

PLAYING IT CLOSE TO DIVEST ... 12

WINNERS & LOSERS … 62

EDITOR’S NOTE … 4

Meet five female candidates hoping to make midterm history

A rare bipartisan effort produces sanctions against Russia

Meet 40 women changing Pennsylvania for good

Who was up and who was down in recent weeks

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March 21, 2022

EDITOR’S NOTE

Editor-in-chief

JARED GRUENWALD

JENNY DEHUFF

AS WE FINALLY APPROACHED the food at the buffet table, Zarinah Lomax and I had the same thought: These plates are awfully tiny. I’m going to pile on as much as possible to avoid going back into this longass line for seconds. But only I said it out loud. We shared a laugh – and this seemingly innocuous icebreaker proved to be the catalyst for one of the more meaningful encounters I’ve had in recent memory.

We met at International Women’s Day at Philadelphia City Hall, and besides both of us being ravenous, we discovered we also share a profession – but hers is a relatively new calling. Lomax, who lives in South Philadelphia, told me the complicated journey of how she got into journalism and began interviewing people to chronicle their experiences of gun violence and domestic and sexual assault.

A rape survivor herself, Lomax said her mission is to talk to people who have experienced similar forms of trauma in an effort to help them heal. “I wanted to allow them to tell their stories from a place of overcoming their fears,” she said. “I decided that I wanted to show people that you didn’t have to live as a victim.”

When a close friend was gunned down outside a West Philadelphia bar in 2018, Lomax realized she had reached her breaking point. She responded by turning that tragedy into an opportunity to raise awareness for victims of gun violence and their families via “The Zarinah Lomax Show” on Instagram. “I began to bring families on to share their stories of losing their loved ones – or people that had survived gun violence,” she said.

She broadcasts live Tuesday and Thursday nights, generating as many as 3,000 views per episode. In 2018, she won a CAMMY award for innovation in television.

In addition to her Instagram show, Lomax hosts a live art and fashion exhibit called “The Epilogues,” which provides a platform for crime victims to share their stories through art, fashion and music. She said her long-term goal is to syndicate her show and have “The Epilogues” expand to other cities.

This journalist/fashion designer/influencer/artist/activist may not yet have the name recognition, high-profile connections or deep pockets of some of the people who have made our power lists, but like so many of them, she has gone above and beyond by recognizing a great need in her community and by doing something about it.

DALS Credit Solutions Co. congratulates our owner

Lynette T. Stevenson

on receiving City & State Pennsylvania’s 2022 Above & Beyond Award

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MARCH 22, 2022 | 6:00-9:00 PM DEL FRISCO’S DOUBLE EAGLE STEAKHOUSE; PHILADELPHIA

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City & State Pennsylvania

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WOMEN TO WATCH DURING THE MIDTERMS

These candidates could be responsible for some of the year’s biggest upsets.

By Justin Sweitzer

WILD FOR CONGRESS

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INCE THE LATE 1980s, March has routinely been designated as a month to remember, honor and celebrate the contributions of women across the nation.

In recent years, Pennsylvania has seen women shatter glass ceilings – from the election of the “Fab Four” to Congress in 2018 to the election of two female floor leaders in 2020, the state has seen progress in putting more women in positions of power, even if it has been incremental and short of what some would prefer to see.

The state’s 2022 midterm elections, however, could represent a landmark moment for female representation in elected office. Women on both sides of the aisle are running for some of the state’s most coveted seats, and Pennsylvania voters could end up electing women to the U.S. Senate, the governor’s office and the lieutenant governor’s office, among other elected posts.

The following is City & State’s look at five women candidates in this year’s midterm elections whose success could reshape the political landscape in Pennsylvania – and make history in the process.

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SUSAN WILD U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, a Democrat, is under an intense spotlight after the state Supreme Court adopted a new congressional map that left Wild in a much more competitive district.

Throughout her time in Congress, Wild has prioritized access to mental health care, lowering prescription drug costs, and workforce issues, but she is now attempting to fend off a challenge from Republican Lisa Scheller for the second time – and this time she

will have to do so in a red-tinged district. According to FiveThirtyEight, the 7th Congressional District has a 4-point Republican lean. The Cook Political Report gives Republicans a slight edge, rating the district as a “toss-up” while giving the GOP a 2-point advantage in its Partisan Voter Index score, meaning Wild will likely have to campaign against the political headwinds to keep her seat in November.

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Lewis DelRosso has focused much of her legislative work on advocacy for older adults.

In the short time that state Rep. Carrie Lewis DelRosso has been in the state House, she’s focused much of her legislative work on issues pertaining to older adults, while also introducing bills centered around education, small businesses and blight reduction.

She may not have the name recognition or political connections of other Republican candidates seeking the party’s nomination for lieutenant governor, but DelRosso possesses an advantage that other candidates do not: the support of

one of the most powerful political groups in the state. In February, DelRosso earned the endorsement – and financial backing – of the Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs, which serves as a conduit for campaign cash from billionaire backer Jeffrey Yass. With the endorsement of Commonwealth Partners, DelRosso has the support of a major Pennsylvania donor, which could improve her chances of winning the GOP primary if the group decides to step in and offer a financial boost to her campaign.

SUMMER LEE

Originally from Pittsburgh, Lee was elected to the state House in 2018.

State Rep. Summer Lee is hoping to make history by becoming the first Black woman from Pennsylvania elected to Congress. Since the western Pennsylvania state lawmaker knocked off a 20-year incumbent in 2018, she has brought a distinctly progressive voice to the state’s 34th House District. Now, the North Braddock and Swissvale native has her sights set on Washington, D.C. Lee entered the race for the 18th Congressional District back in October following a retirement announcement from U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, but is now running in the newly-drawn 12th Congressional District that was created by a new congressional map.

Lee supports expanding voting rights, passing the PRO Act and implementing a Green New Deal, a progressive platform that could propel her to Congress. But first, she has to win a Democratic primary that includes at least three other competitors.

CARRIE LEWIS DELROSSO; JUSTIN SWIETZER; CHRISTY WARNER; STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA; CAITLIN MARCH; MELISSA HART CAMPAIGN

CARRIE LEWIS DELROSSO

March 21, 2022

CARLA SANDS Carla Sands isn’t the only woman running for U.S. Senate, but she faces a unique challenge as she looks to convince GOP voters to support her campaign.

Sands personally worked with former President Donald Trump as Trump’s ambassador to Denmark. However, Sands has so far been unable to use her Trumpist bona fides to garner an endorsement from the former president. Coupled with the late entrances – and barrage of campaign ads – from

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Sands is chair and CEO of Vintage Capital Group.

celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz and hedge fund executive Dave McCormick, Sands faces an uphill battle to generate the support needed to win the state’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate. But Sands does have some key advantages that other candidates lack. She’s the only candidate who worked in Trump’s administration and has personal wealth that she can tap into if her fundraising lags too far behind that of other candidates.

Hart served Pennsylvania’s 4th congressional district from 2001 to 2007.

MELISSA HART Since Pennsylvania first established the office of governor in 1790, a woman has never been elected to hold it. Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart is hoping to change that trend more than 200 years later as she seeks the Republican nomination for governor. Hart, a former legislator at the state and federal levels, is running on a platform that includes cutting taxes, reforming the state’s regulatory progress, championing property tax relief and lowering the state’s gas tax. It’s a formula she hopes will guide her to the general election in November, despite not having the name recognition of candidates like former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta and state Sen. Doug Mastriano.

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In 2017, then-President Donald Trump appointed Sands as the U.S. ambassador to Denmark.

Q & A with U.S. Senate hopeful

Carla Sands Her ‘Pennsylvania First’ promise is her key to connecting with Republicans.

By Jenny DeHuff

If elected to the Senate, what’s first on your agenda?

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

I would be honored to have President Trump’s endorsement, but I never get

I think we should investigate Tony Fauci and what he did – to America, to our businesses, to lives – by his actions and his guidance. And second, did he lie on the floor of Congress when he was questioned? I think we should investigate China and what they did, spreading this virus throughout the world – the loss of millions of lives.

The businesses that couldn’t make it because of this pandemic and the loss of family members and friends is tragic; I think they owe us trillions of dollars in reparations. And let’s investigate Hunter Biden and the Biden family corruption because I think that is at the heart of many of the actions right now in the world, including Russia and Ukraine.

You have the backing of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and dozens of U.S. ambassadors to countries around the world. What about a Trump endorsement?

ahead of President Trump. He wants to back a winning candidate and I have to prove to him that I’m the winner. I am tied for first place in the latest Franklin & Marshall poll – statistically tied for first … The reason I’m running is because we see the left is taking over our culture …

The Washington-Biden agenda is more radical than any administration I’ve ever seen. Pennsylvanians want someone who’s going to go fight back against that, and not just fight in the Senate, but lead in the Senate.

What has your background in business, real estate and as a chiropractor taught you about public service?

My first paid job was at Hersheypark. I did go on to become a third-generation doctor of chiropractic, running a very small business. And then I became the CEO of my family’s real estate and investment company, when my late husband, the love of my life, died in 2015.

And we had investments throughout our country … What I learned is the challenges and the opportunities of business, how different states and even

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT; SANDS CAMPAIGN

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ARLA SANDS, the U.S. ambassador to Denmark during the Trump administration, is one of three frontrunners jockeying for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in a midterm race drawing nationwide scrutiny for its implications on the balance of power in the chamber and the country. Sands describes herself as a “pro-life, pro-First Amendment, pro-Second Amendment, constitutional conservative, an America-first businesswoman, Christian and mom.”

She says she wants to be Pennsylvania’s “energy senator,” clearing a path for domestic energy production and rolling back regulations on the processing of oil and natural gas. Sands, who alleges that Pennsylvanians are getting a “radical, socialist agenda that’s at war with everything that (we) hold dear,” says she intends to go to Washington, D.C. and advocate for “Operation Warp Speed for American Energy” – and if elected, her plan is to reverse that on day one.

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City & State Pennsylvania

Sands poses with supporters of her campaign for U.S. senator.

local governments operate in their regulatory processes. I think that it gives me an understanding of how to attract business to grow the economy.

You’ve gone through two consulting firms since launching your campaign. Will you address the rumors of multiple staff shake-ups within your campaign?

This is what I’ll say: You can’t buy loyalty.

On more than one occasion, your opponents have brought up your past acting career as a negative.

How do you respond to that?

I am proud of what I’ve accomplished in my life. When I was working as a doctor of chiropractic at Camp Hill alongside my dad, I got a call and an opportunity. I didn’t want to move to the West Coast, but I took that opportunity. I did a soap opera, a couple of movies, some prime-

time TV and dozens and dozens of commercials. Some of them played during the Super Bowl.

Soon after that, I began to practice as a doctor of chiropractic in Los Angeles. That’s what I was doing when I met my late husband, Fred.

So, I believe that we learn from everything we experience and it’s important to create opportunity here in Pennsylvania so our young people don’t have to leave the commonwealth – so they can find opportunity right here at home.

And our leaders have not been able to accomplish that … My campaign is really about touching the lives of the people of Pennsylvania who have not been well-served … This is a battle for the heart and soul of America.

Editor’s Note: Any claims relating to Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci and his involvement in disseminating the coronavirus throughout the U.S. are unsubstantiated. Assertions relating to corruption surrounding Hunter Biden were debunked during the 2020 election by thenAttorney General William Barr.

What distinguishes you from the other candidates running for this U.S. Senate seat?

First of all, there are three of us in double digits in the lead, but I’m the only clear conservative. I’ve been a conservative activist all my adult life. I’m the only one in this race who actually worked to help President Trump get elected in 2016. And I’m the only one who served in his administration. First, he appointed me to his Economic Advisory Council and then as his ambassador to Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

There is no other candidate our voters can trust to put America and Pennsylvania first in Washington.

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Pushing back against Putin How Pennsylvania is responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

By Justin Sweitzer

Pennsylvania has divested itself of Russian financial investments.

Officials from across the political spectrum – including Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff – supported efforts to divest the state of investments tied to Russia. Beginning in late February, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican, began selling off investments the state had in Russian companies.

According to Samantha Heckel, a spokesperson for Garrity, the state Treasury had a total of $2.9 million invested in 31 Russian companies. Following the invasion, the Treasury sold its interest in 28 of the companies. Proceeds from the sales were then distributed throughout the state Treasury’s indexed portfolio, Heckel said.

“The final three securities are American Depositary Receipts, which have been halted from trading as part of the sanctions,” Heckel said. “As a result, we won’t be able to divest from those securities unless the trading halt is removed. At the same time, it’s important to note that the sanctions in place prevent the three companies from accessing any of those funds.”

Pennsylvania’s two largest pension funds also took action to sell investments in Russian companies. In an emergency board meeting in early March, the Public School Employees’ Retirement System board voted to divest PSERS from investments in Russia and Belarus as quickly as possible.

Later, the board of the State Employees’ Retirement System, known as SERS, directed staff to divest the pension fund of all Russian-affiliated assets. According to SERS, the fund had roughly $7 million invested in Russian-related investments as of the beginning of March.

Russian products have been pulled from state-owned liquor stores.

In a letter sent to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board at the end of February, Wolf asked the board to stop selling Russian-made products at state stores “as a small show of solidarity and support for the people of Ukraine, and an expression of our collective revulsion with the unprovoked actions of the Russian state.”

The PLCB quickly acted on Wolf’s request, but the move was largely symbolic in nature, as the state’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits Stores only carry two products sourced from Russia: Russian Standard and Ustianochka 80-proof vodkas. The stores

ROBERT NICKELSBERG/GETTY IMAGES

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USSIA’S INVASION of Ukraine has prompted widespread condemnation across the globe, and to date, the U.S. has levied a range of penalties on Russian banks, oligarchs and media entities in an attempt to weaken the Russian government and cut off the country from international financial resources.

State-level actions may not have the impact national and international penalties do, but that hasn’t stopped Pennsylvania officials from working to limit the state’s financial dealings with Russia and show support for the Ukrainian people.

Below is a roundup of the major actions Pennsylvania officials have taken in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine thus far.

March 21, 2022

A pipeline under construction in Smith Township will carry natural gas from fracked oil and gas wells in the Marcellus formation.

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”Now is not the time to hinder our natural gas industry.”

– Seth Grove

also carried roughly a “half-dozen” Russian products that were available through special orders.

PLCB Chair Tim Holden said the products are no longer available to consumers. “Given the evolving politicaleconomic climate, it’s just the right thing to do,” Holden said.

Some legislators want the state to do more.

Many Republicans have pressured the Wolf administration to do more to promote natural gas development in the state, a course of action they say could increase the state’s natural gas exports.

GOP State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who chairs the House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, criticized Wolf’s approach to regulating fossil fuels.

Metcalfe said the state should “make use of our advanced production methods and technologies to provide Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and other resources to Europe and abroad.”

House State Government Committee Chair Seth Grove plans to introduce legislation to spur more natural gas development in the state. He said his bill would do three things: remove the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate effort to regulate carbon emissions from power plants; reform the permitting process for natural gas drilling; and provide funding for pipeline construction.

“Now is not the time to hinder our natural gas industry. Rather, we must increase it to further secure our energy sector and decrease, if not zero out completely, America’s reliance on foreign gas,” he said.

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Who run the town?

Municipalities across the state are electing female mayors at record rates.

By Harrison Cann

Rankin Mayor Joelisa McDonald previously worked on grassroots efforts for Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012.

JOSH BARKER

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ROM SCRANTON TO Harrisburg, Upper Darby to Gettysburg, and in burgs across Pennsylvania, women aren’t just getting a seat at the table – more often, they can now be found at its head.

The women coming into power at the municipal level may be from a range of backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common: a passion for helping their community. This electoral trend, which began at the end of the last decade, has continued into 2022 with several boroughs, towns and cities in Pennsylvania electing female mayors – some for the first time.

Additionally, in Western Pennsylvania, women of color are making an impact, where Black mayors include Joelisa L. McDonald of Rankin, Betty Copeland of Bridgeville, Ciera Dent of Steelton, Nickole Nesby of Duquesne and Delia Lennon-Winstead of Braddock.

McDonald, 31, who grew up in the borough located eight miles south of Pittsburgh, said witnessing the communi-

ty’s declining fortunes and other women stepping up across the state encouraged her to get involved. In the wake of Antwon Rose’s death in 2018, McDonald helped his family organize services and navigate the fraught aftermath. Rose, who was fatally shot by Pittsburgh police, grew up in the same neighborhood McDonald was raised in. As McDonald led the family and community through the crisis, she increasingly heard from people telling her to run for office, even as Black female politicians like state Rep. Summer Lee and then-Braddock Mayor Chardaé Jones set the stage for her.

“I guess my leadership qualities just kind of came through at this moment,” McDonald told City & State. “There was just this wave of female leaders emerging.”

An illness kept McDonald from running for mayor in 2019, but she was appointed mayor in May 2021 and was elected this past November. “It felt important to send the message that you don’t have to become a product of your environment. You can emerge into becoming a great leader and a

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great mentor, and really just someone for the other kids to look up to,” she said.

Running for office comes with its own challenges, but once elected, a whole new set of obstacles appears.

Jones, whom McDonald credited as part of the wave of new leaders, said many residents didn’t have high expectations for her when she took over in Braddock. “I knew that people expected me to know less than I did, not realizing that I had already been volunteering and advocating for community change,” Jones said. “I was under-promising and overdelivering” as mayor “because people already had perceived notions of who I am and what I brought to the table before they knew me.” Jones didn’t run for reelection after finishing John Fetterman’s term once he left to become lieutenant governor, choosing instead to support LennonWinstead’s successful bid for mayor.

In other cities, residents are still getting used to having a female mayor.

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and Lancaster Mayor Dorene Sorace both said they’ve often been mistaken as staffers at events. Sorace, who is also president of the Pennsylvania Municipal League, said she saw a significant increase in the number of women that attended the 2018 and 2019 U.S. Conference of Mayors in what usually is a male-dominated room – and was relieved to know that others had the same issues she did.

“There was actually a panel about being a woman and being mayor, and it was just so compelling that we were all saying the same things,” Sorace said. “If we’re with a person – maybe a colleague – who’s a man, they would be acknowledged as the mayor before we would as women. That happened to me repeatedly at the beginning.”

Sorace is the second female mayor in Lancaster’s history and the first mother to hold the position. And for the first time in its history, Lancaster has a majority-female City Council.

Cognetti is the first female mayor in Scranton’s history. Both won their respective elections in November, with Cognetti going from an appointment from a special election to the full-term mayor and Sorace returning as a second-term mayor. They said even after they’re acknowledged as mayors, they don’t

December 2021

always get the same treatment as past chief executives.

“No one asked men any of these questions about balancing their work and family life or, ‘What are you going to do about the kids?’ or ‘How is it going to affect your family planning?’ That’s not even part of the dialogue,” Sorace said.

Cognetti said the key is to keep moving forward. “The way I handle (being mistaken as a staffer) is (by adopting the attitude that) ‘It’s OK, we’ve had hundreds and hundreds of years of mayors that didn’t look like me,’” she told City & State. “It’s part of the process and we’ll keep putting one foot in front of the other and try to take people along with us.”

The barriers for these women go beyond constituents’ preconceived notions of what a

”I think the best thing is just getting people involved – to know that their voice counts.”

– Rita Frealing

CONOR NEALON

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December 2021

Paige Cognetti took office on Jan. 6, 2020. Prior to becoming mayor, she advised the state’s auditor general on fiscal matters.

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Wanda Williams was elected Harrisburg’s 39th mayor on Nov. 2, 2021, defeating incumbent Eric Papenfuse.

SEAN SIMMERS/PENNLIVE.COM; JIM HALE

Gettysburg Mayor Rita Frealing second from right, first row) has more than 20 years of political experience in government.

mayor should look like – and in McDonald’s case, the barriers are literally physical.

“I was met with a lot of opposition,” McDonald said. “The initial thing was just getting a key to my office, which I still don’t have.” She added that on top of not being able to access her office, council members have been holding meetings with local police without her knowledge, actions which she threatened to go to the Board of Ethics over.

“I think they thought that they were putting a puppet in the seat. They were kind of like, ‘Oh yeah, let’s get this young girl in here,’ thinking that I wasn’t going to do anything or that I was just going to kind of follow their lead on things,’” McDonald said. “I respect my elders very much and all the things that they have done. I will never take away

from that. But I’m not anyone’s puppet – I have my own thoughts and ideas.”

Despite having to deal with such obstacles, mayors like Rita Frealing in Gettysburg are living out their dream of being in public office. Frealing said her goal even as a child was to be mayor. Now, the first female and first Black mayor of the borough, she’s working to ensure others can follow her path.

“I think the best thing is just getting people involved – to know that their voice counts,” Frealing said. “Most of the people I asked, ‘How can I repay that?’ said, ‘In your future, give it to someone else.’”

Frealing said this surge in female leadership could be a sign that people are tired of the status quo and want to see more diverse leadership. “You see this throughout

history that when people are looking for a change, they’re looking oftentimes for an outsider,” Dana Brown, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women & Politics at Chatham University, said.

“Sometimes that outsider may come with a different background, but that might also mean that they are embodying the difference, in terms of women.”

The change is welcomed at the executive level, Brown said. The commonwealth saw a number of women get elected to the state legislature in 2018, but few are in leadership positions on their own. “I think that women are important in these roles because we bring a balance,” McDonald said. “We’re considered nurturing – but we don’t take no mess either.”

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THE 2022

ABOVE & BEYOND Meet these 40 women working toward making a better future for Pennsylvania.

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BOVE AND BEYOND: It’s an admittedly abstruse title for a list honoring a select group of women making a difference in Pennsylvania. But within those three words can be found not just a catalyst for these honorees’ achievements, but the very reason why we have put together this list recognizing these 40 amazing women: Every day, these women – some of whom you may know, others whom we are thrilled to introduce you to – go above and beyond what’s asked of them.

They blaze trails in typically male-dominated fields like

trucking and politics.

They rise to the highest levels in major nonprofit organizations, law firms and media companies.

They advocate for their causes at City Hall, in Harrisburg and in Washington, D.C., and they hold influential roles at every level of government.

In recognition of their accomplishments, City & State is honoring these 40 remarkable women serving in government, business, nonprofit organizations, medicine and more. The following profiles were written by City & State staff and Hilary Danailova, a freelance writer.

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NINA AHMAD

INTERIM PRESIDENT Pennsylvania NOW

KIELINSKI PHOTOGRAPHERS

Nina Ahmad, who currently leads the Pennsylvania National Organization for Women as the organization’s interim president, is sui generis.

In 2020, Ahmad became the first person of color, the first immigrant and the first scientist to become a Democratic nominee for statewide office when she was chosen as the Democratic nominee for auditor general. While she came up short in the general election, Ahmad became the first woman of color to receive more than 3 million votes in a statewide election, earning more votes than Hillary Clinton and thenPresident Barack Obama did in 2016 and 2012, respectively.

Ahmad is also a former Philadelphia deputy mayor – the first Asian American woman to hold a cabinet position in city history. She is also an acclaimed scientist, earning a doctorate from the chemistry department at the University of Pennsylvania and having served as the director of molecular biology of the Research Department at Wills Eye Hospital.

“Having lived through the War of Independence of Bangladesh as a child, I saw the power of everyday people to make positive change, when united in the fight for freedom,” Ahmad said. “I am deeply grateful to Philadelphia – and Pennsylvania more broadly – for giving me an opportunity to put down my roots, get an education and raise a family.

These experiences have led me to advocacy when I see injustice and to be of service by crafting solutions to address that injustice.”

Ahmad is president of the Pennsylvania National Organization for Women.

Ahmad has led efforts to fight workplace discrimination.

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JENNIFER ALLEN CHIEF, SECTION OF PALLIATIVE MEDICINE & HOSPICE Lehigh Valley Health Network

Aucker is president and CEO of Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg.

LEHIGH VALLEY HEALTH NETWORK; EVANGELICAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

Palliative medicine – specialized care to mitigate suffering for seriously ill patients – has surged to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it wasn’t on Dr. Jennifer Allen’s radar during medical school at SUNY Health Science Center of Syracuse until a course at Harvard opened this native Buffalonian’s eyes: “I realized that palliative care is what I love about medicine: building relationships and being able to take time guiding people.”

During the pandemic, Allen put those skills to use by elevating the level of care at Lehigh Valley Health Network’s palliative medicine and hospice section, where she spent seven years before taking over as department chief in 2019.

The former high school candy-striper and emergency medical technician could hardly have foreseen the challenges of caring for hospitalized COVID patients.

Families were initially unable to visit, so “they’d be in the parking lot holding up signs saying, ‘Please take care of my loved one.’ It was heart-wrenching,” Allen recalled.

As palliative care chief, Allen is proud of strengthening both an inpatient consult service and a home-based team connecting patients with nurse practitioners. She also set up a committee to address cultural competence, psychological safety and inclusion. “If anything, I think that our team has come out stronger,” she said.

Aucker has received numerous state and local awards for her work.

Beck's clients go to her for guidance on a wide range of general litigation matters.

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KENDRA AUCKER PRESIDENT & CEO

BLANK ROME

Evangelical Community Hospital After initially entering the health care industry through public relations and marketing, Kendra Aucker now serves as the president and CEO of Evangelical Community Hospital, a position she has held since July 2015. She previously worked as the hospital’s executive vice president and its chief operating officer, and has been a member of its leadership team since 1990.

“I was fortunate to have been raised by a mother who was a registered nurse and loved her profession,” Aucker said. “My father was a biology teacher who was passionate about the reliability of science.

Their examples have helped me tremendously, especially over the past two years. When you serve a community hospital, you really are in service to the community – and I am blessed to serve the region in which I was raised.”

Aucker is active outside of Evangelical Community Hospital as well: She currently is on the board of directors of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, as well as the board of directors of CHART, a regional risk retention group made up of hospitals in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Aucker is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Medical Group Management Association, and is a Healthcare Fellow of the Healthcare Advisory Board.

Beck serves as the pro bono chair of Blank Rome's Pittsburgh office.

JILL BECK LITIGATION ATTORNEY Blank Rome Jill Beck has used her experience in litigation and appellate advocacy to help Pennsylvanians gain access to justice. As an attorney at the law firm Blank Rome, Beck serves as a litigation attorney and the pro bono chair for its Pittsburgh office. In her first few months as chair of the pro bono committee, Beck has taken on cases to help underserved individuals in the legal system, including victims of domestic violence and wage theft, those experiencing housing insecurity, and low-income civil litigants.

Beck stresses that she didn’t always want to be a lawyer, but after working for AmeriCorps and

providing services to children involved in the juvenile system, she said she realized she “wanted to be the type of lawyer who really knew my clients and could advocate for their needs based on that knowledge.”

Beck rejoined Blank Rome last year after taking a leave of absence to run for Pennsylvania Superior Court judge, where she lost in the Democratic primary.

She got her start in legal work after graduating from George Washington University and Duquesne University School of Law, and began her career as an attorney at KidsVoice, representing abused, neglected and at-risk children in Allegheny County. She also served as a judicial law clerk for Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Christine Donohue, conducting legal research and drafting issues of first impression and state and federal constitutional claims.

Beem is a senior associate with Greenlee Partners based out of Harrisburg.

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March 21, 2022

JENNIFER BEER VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce

KARA BEEM SENIOR ASSOCIATE Greenlee Partners Kara Beem went to the same college, Trinity Washington University, that produced Kellyanne Conway and Nancy Pelosi – and it shows. “When developing messaging, I always try to figure out who are the natural allies to pursue legislative goals,” explained Beem, a Capitol lobbyist at Greenlee Partners since 2007.

Beem’s advocacy began in high school when she volunteered with the homeless. At Trinity Washington, she recruited other students to help at a children’s congregant care facility. By the time she volunteered with Legal Aid at Dickinson School of Law, Beem was sure of her path. “I really enjoy lobbying; it’s

advocating in a different way,” she said.

After a stint at the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, Beem worked on labor, health care and education issues at Capital Associates, another Harrisburg lobbying firm. She earned a reputation for successful public affairs campaigns, often for legislation that began with limited support from lawmakers.

At Greenlee, Beem helped the Alliance of Approved Private Schools improve their state funding formula to ensure predictable revenue flow and has lobbied for licensing reforms that would allow health care workers to move where they’re needed – an urgent priority for hospitals during the pandemic.

For two decades, Beem has been part of the organization Women in Pennsylvania Government Relations, where, she said, “we all lean on each other, and no question is considered dumb.”

RYAN DUNLEVY

Over two decades, Beem has marshalled several public affairs campaigns.

When Jennifer Beer got a C in her first chemistry class at the University of Pittsburgh, she switched her major from chemistry to political science – “the classes I was taking just for fun,” she recalled.

Now vice president of government affairs at the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, a role she has held since 2018, Beer still loves policy, even the parts that she acknowledges “are a little wonky.” From corporate tax policy to transportation and infrastructure investment, Beer relishes the welter of challenges she gets to address at the chamber, which aims to improve the economy and quality of life in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Beer’s advocacy led to the passage of a 2020 statewide transportation bill and an expansion of the Neighborhood Assistance Program, a tax credit for disadvantaged communities. Her work has also secured bipartisan solutions for state public pension reform, criminal justice reform and infrastructure funding.

Beer, a one-time intern, now recruits her own interns and volunteers with Pennsylvania Women Work’s “Three Cups of Coffee” mentorship program. She also co-chairs the Barbara McNees Spirit of ATHENA Scholarship program, named for her own former mentor at the chamber, which awards an annual scholarship for a Carnegie Mellon certificate program to a young woman from the Pittsburgh region. “It’s to help women get from that middle management career path into the C-suite,” explained Beer of a journey she herself has taken.

Jefferson congratulates PA Senator Maria Collett on being chosen as an honoree.

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March 21, 2022

PATRICIA BLUMENAUER VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS & DATA SYSTEMS

Blumenauer is vice president of operations and data systems at Philadelphia Works.

Originally from Long Island, Blumenauer said she fell in love with Philly right away.

Five years ago, when Patricia Blumenauer joined Philadelphia Works, a nonprofit that focuses on workforce solutions, “we had a solid economy moving in the right direction,” she recalled. Then the pandemic radically reshaped the labor landscape – and Blumenauer was forced to pivot in her role as the organization’s vice president for operations and data systems.

Fortunately, Blumenauer is an expert at handling crises.

A counselor by training – she holds a bachelor's degree in human development from Cornell University and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Chestnut Hill College. Since Philadelphia’s four PA CareerLink Centers could no longer serve their 40,000 clients in person, Blumenauer developed the My PHL Career Portal, an online learning management system offering interview skills and industry-specific training. She also oversaw Philadelphia Works’ collaboration on the Skills Forward Initiative, a public-private partnership that helps local employers train and mentor workers, especially in the growing fields of health care and information technology.

She serves with the Philadelphia Digital Literacy Alliance and Peirce College’s Career Bridge Advisory Council.

PHILADELPHIA WORKS

Philadelphia Works

Congratulates

Patricia Blumenauer, Philadelphia Works recognizes and celebrates you for going Above and Beyond for the residents and businesses of Philadelphia.

The work that you do goes a long way in helping us acheive our vision of a thriving Philadelphia workforce and a stronger local economy.

Patricia Blumenauer

THANK YOU!

Vice President, Operations and Data Philadelphia Works

Congratulations

Mary Oliveira

on being named a 2022 Above & Beyond award honoree Thank you for always going above and beyond. We are proud to celebrate you and the following PA Chamber members as your fellow Above & Beyond honorees: Kara Beem, Greenlee Partners Jennifer Beer, Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce Angela Bowie, Lyft Kimberly Brown, Jones Day Lynn Charytan, Comcast Corporation Jeanne Cucinelli, UPMC Enterprises Glennis Harris, The GIANT Company Suzanne Mayes, Cozen O'Connor Kimberly S. Sokoloski, Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney

417 Walnut Street I Harrisburg, PA 17101 I 800.225.7224 I pachamber.org

PennFuture President and CEO Jacquelyn Bonomo

Congratulations, Jacqui, for being recognized with City & State’s Above & Beyond Award, and for a brilliant 37-year career as a strong advocate for our environment, natural resources and the people who depend on them.

From all PennFuture Members, Board and Staff, wishing you the best in your retirement.

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March 21, 2022

JACQUELYN BONOMO PRESIDENT & CEO PennFuture

Bonomo is president and CEO of PennFuture, which works towards a clean energy economy.

A former whitewater guide, Bonomo enjoys paddling, hiking and bird watching.

COLE HANDERHAN; JOSE RODRIGUEZ, JPROD EVENT RESOURCES LLC

Jacquelyn Bonomo remembers the moment that made her an activist. The Pennsylvania native had returned to Luzerne County after several years in Arizona and Wyoming, and saw her beloved Nescopeck Creek threatened by a dam project. “That was really the beginning of my career,” she reflected.

Thirty-seven years of environmental advocacy later, Bonomo is retiring from PennFuture, where she stabilized the young organization during her five years as president and CEO. Her legacy is a solid base of staff, supporters and funding “to continue this work,” she said. Before PennFuture, Bonomo spent nearly a decade as vice president of conservation programs for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Under Bonomo’s leadership, the conservancy quintupled the budget for its forest and water protection programs and grew its staff from 11 to more than 80.

After graduating from Penn State University, Bonomo, who grew up in Pennsylvania’s coal country, fell in love with nature out west and was influenced by the environmental writings of Rachel Carson.

Multimillion-dollar grants to protect Pennsylvania’s ecosystem “are the tangible parts of my legacy,” said Bonomo, a dedicated hiker, birdwatcher and fly-fisher.

“But especially with the climate crisis of recent years, my role as a plainspoken advocate calling out elected officials around fracking and petrochemicals – that’s so important. Being a native gives me an authentic voice.”

Congratulations to our friend and colleague Suzanne Mayes on receiving City & State Pennsylvania’s Above and Beyond Award.

Jeffrey A. Leonard

Co-Chair, Business Law Department (215) 665-4157 jleonard@cozen.com

Ira C. Gubernick

Co-Chair, Corporate Practice Group (215) 665-5545 igubernick@cozen.com

Larry P. Laubach

Co-Chair, Corporate Practice Group (215) 665-4666 llaubach@cozen.com 775 attorneys | 31 offices

cozen.com

© 2022 Cozen O’Connor

S H A Y N A V A R N E R

ader.

An exemplarvyedle honor.

A well deser lations!

Congratu m

-The PHCA Tea

Congratulations Senator Maria Collett!

Thank you for supporting the AAPI community with COVID-19 vaccine efforts and beyond!

www.jaisohn.org

Get your COVID-19 vaccine and boosters!

Get your COVID-19 vaccine

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Brown is executive director of the Center for Women in Politics at Chatham University.

March 21, 2022

ANGELA BOWIE PUBLIC POLICY MANAGER Lyft

Brown's mission is to help more women run and get elected to public office.

DANA BROWN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Pennsylvania Center for Women in Politics, Chatham University If you’re consuming news about women in politics, there’s a good chance that one of the experts cited on the subject will be Dana Brown.

That’s because, since 2010, Brown has led the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University.

Exploring the power of political participation has been a focus of Brown’s since childhood, when her father, a union member, constantly impressed upon her the importance of understanding the relationship between politics and people’s lives.

“I would say that that intersected with learning about the feminist movement in middle school and high school and realizing my own agency and the importance of what

I could do to help improve people's lives, particularly women's lives,” Brown said.

To do that, Brown became the first member of her family to go to college – the first stop in an academic journey that also included getting a master’s degree and a doctorate at Rutgers University, where she also spent time at the school’s Center for American Women in Politics.

At the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics, Brown is heavily invested in the resumption of Ready to Run, its successful campaign training program, and the National Education for Women’s (NEW) Leadership Pennsylvania, which Brown describes as “a sixday residential public leadership Bootcamp for undergraduate women.” She also serves on the governor’s Commission for Women, which she calls a “good opportunity for me to connect my students with Harrisburg, whether it be the executive branch or the state legislature.”

LYFT; RIC EVANS

While her deep and wide-ranging experience in local, state and federal government advocacy made her an obvious choice to be the public policy manager for the ride-sharing company Lyft, Angela Bowie had a more immediate and trenchant rationale why she took on her latest role.

“One of the reasons I came to Lyft is because they were doing so much around transportation access at a time when I really needed it for my family – it was such an important resource for us – when the position became available, I really kind of jumped at the opportunity,” she said.

At Lyft, Bowie, who credits her mother and grandmother with showing her how to overcome challenges “with perseverance, with strength, with courage, with a positive attitude,” applies those lessons daily via initiatives that deploy Lyft drivers and vehicles as a viable transportation option for people around Pennsylvania who need rides.

Via the company’s Jobs Access Program and Community Access Program, Bowie helps ensure Pennsylvanians can get to job interviews, pick up groceries, see their physicians and more.

Although she is no longer in public service, Bowie remains committed to fulfilling her civic duties. She serves as a Committeeperson in Philadelphia, is on the board of the Germantown Special Services District, and has been teaching political science to college students for almost two decades. “I never want to stop trying to help young people understand the importance of participation, of having a voice and being at the table,” she said.

Congratulations to Above & Beyond Award Winner

KIM SOKOLOSKI Principal, Government Relations

1 OF ONLY 5 LAW FIRMS NAMED A LAW 360 PENNSYLVANIA POWERHOUSE Full-Service Legal and Government Relations Harrisburg

|

Pittsburgh

|

Philadelphia

CONGRATULATIONS JASMINE SESSOMS Above and Beyond Award recipient and SVP of Corporate Affairs

|

15 Offices Nationwide

|

BIPC.com

Chatham University congratulates Dana Brown, Ph.D., executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University, and all of the City & State Above and Beyond honorees

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March 21, 2022

KIM BROWN PARTNER

Brown is a partner in the Pittsburghbased law firm Jones Day.

An expert in business and tort litigation, Brown has been at it for over 30 years.

You can tell a lot about someone’s work and work ethic by peer recognition – and by that metric, Kim Brown is a baller. Brown, a partner in Jones Day’s Pittsburgh office, is a fellow of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, a former president and board member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, and has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer multiple times.

For Brown, such success might not have been preordained, but her career certainly was. She vividly remembers her fourth-grade teacher suggesting that she would make a good lawyer.

From that moment on, she said, that teacher had “planted the seed. By the time I was in high school, I pretty much knew that that’s what I wanted to do.”

During a career path that has led to her becoming a soughtafter trial lawyer, Brown had a number of female mentors at her workplaces, many of whom have gone on to become judges – something that doesn’t interest Brown. “I have the heart of a trial lawyer,” she said.

Brown has two other critical roles at Jones Day. She is chair of the firm’s Pittsburgh office’s Diversity, Inclusion and Advancement Committee, and is a member of its AntiHuman Trafficking Task Force.

She co-leads the task force’s diversion court project, and her work there has resulted in her developing and publishing a best practices guide – “some of the stuff that I’m most proud of that I've worked on since joining Jones Day,” she said.

JONES DAY

Jones Day

/EHStrategies

@EHStrategies

www.edgehillstrategies.com

S T R ATEG I E S

CONGRATULATIONS

JANE ROH

& to all the of other distinguished women honored with this year's Above & Beyond Award

My wife!

The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania & Fair Districts PA are pleased to celebrate

Congratulations To Congratulations to Kara KaraBeem Beem And All City and State’s First And All City and State’s FirstAnnual Annual Above and Beyond Honorees

Above and Beyond Honorees

Carol Kuniholm Susan Gobreski as distinguished women in Pennsylvania and stalwart defenders of democracy. @FairDistrictsPa

@LWVPA

Greenlee Partners, Greenlee Partners, LLC LLC 230 State Street 230 Street Harrisburg,PA PA17101 17101 Harrisburg, (717) (717) 236-0443 236-0443 www.greenleepartners.com www.greenleepartners.com

34 CityAndStatePA .com

March 21, 2022

JEANNE CUNICELLI

LYNN CHARYTAN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL Comcast Cable Comcast customers, Lynn Charytan heard you. Across 40 states and Washington, D.C., you complained long and loud enough about incomprehensible cable bills that Charytan and the team she leads at Comcast’s cable legal department completely reworked how customers receive information. “We have what we think is an industry-leading platform that we’re really proud of, Charytan said, “which has drastically reduced the number of calls we get in the first 90 days from customers not understanding their first bill – it really had an incredible positive effect, both for our customers and also for the business.”

In addition to heading up legal

affairs for Comcast Cable and its wide array of related products, Charytan, who previously served as in-house counsel for the Washington Post, works closely with the Philadelphia-based media behemoth’s government affairs and regulatory divisions.

In addition to working on current and future cable priorities, she forecasts that the next area of interest will revolve around the expansion of broadband. Charytan focuses on paying back the crucial assistance from her own mentors by mentoring promising candidates and on paying it forward by challenging her team to volunteer for pro bono work, diversity initiatives or other causes like Innocence Project clinics.

“I’ve made it a point to actively participate and go to as many of those clinics as I can,” Charytan said, “because I’m putting my money where my mouth is with this department.”

COMCAST; UPMC ENTERPRISES

Charytan is vice president and senior deputy general counsel for Comcast Cable.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT UPMC, UPMC Enterprises When Jeanne Cunicelli left the venture capital firm Bay City Capital in 2017 to lead UPMC Enterprises' Translational Sciences, it represented a homecoming of sorts for her. She received her bachelor’s degree in cognitive psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. Just four years later, Cunicelli was put in charge of UPMC Enterprises.

Under the leadership of Cunicelli, who is also an executive vice president at UPMC, UPMC Enterprises has focused on effectively distributing more than $1 billion in life sciences investments over the next two years, primarily through Translational Sciences, which works on the transfer of scientific discoveries into life-changing medicines, diagnostics and devices, and Digital Solutions, which works to provide the technology that can improve the health care experience.

Cunicelli credits her mother and colleagues like Leslie Davis and Diane Holder with helping forge her path. “At the end of the day,” she said, “I consider them people who lead by example and who have stared down challenges in their life with a fierceness that, when combined with their other fabulous traits, inspire me on my journey.”

March 21, 2022

City & State Pennsylvania

Collett represents the 12th Senatorial District, which spans parts of Bucks County.

MARIA COLLETT

PENNSYLVANIA SENATE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS

STATE SENATOR No matter where Maria Collett’s career has taken her, she has always worked to use her position – and her talents – to help people in need. As a state senator, Collett has championed legislation designed to ensure Pennsylvanians have access to clean water, while also leading efforts to modernize health care, child care and caregiver laws. Collett leveraged her background in health care throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing legislation to create a COVID-19 vaccine registry, as well as a bill to make sure COVID-19 vaccines were distributed equitably.

Before her election to the state Senate, Collett spent time as a nurse, working as a trauma specialist, as well as in pediatric home health care and longterm care. She went on to work as a nurse educator, assisting nurses with how to administer Medicaid programs. Collett also spent time as a deputy district attorney for Camden County, N.J., where she specialized in working with children facing abuse and neglect.

Collett believes that her multidisciplinary past has helped make her a more effective public servant.

“Throughout my career as a lawyer, nurse and nurse educator, advocacy was the common thread,” she said. “I saw just how impactful our representatives in Harrisburg were in shaping policies that dictate victims’ rights, health care access, medication costs, and more. As a state senator, I knew I could bring a fresh perspective and advocate for my community on a much broader scale.”

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Collett began her career as an attorney, representing victims of child abuse.

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March 21, 2022

STEPHANIE CONNERS Jefferson Health Stephanie Conners’ father worked as a security guard at Villanova University so his daughter could enjoy the tuition benefit and become the first in the family to attend college. When she was denied admission, he convinced Villanova’s dean of nursing to meet a young Stephanie, who promised her: “If you give me the chance, I'll make you proud.” It worked: By her early 30s, Conners, then at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, had become the youngest chief nursing officer in the country.

Today, Conners holds a master's degree from Eastern University and oversees 14 acute care hospitals, one long-term care facility and a robust outpatient network across two states as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Jefferson Health.

“Our model integrates our philanthropic, academic and clinical innovations across all pillars,” she said.

A recent example is Jefferson’s merger with Einstein Healthcare Network, which Conners oversaw. She also chairs the American Heart Association’s “Go! Red for Women” campaign.

Some years ago, after Conners gave a speech, a woman in the audience asked her: “Are you that girl with big black hair?”

It was the Villanova nursing dean who’d given Conners her start. “My whole life has been paying it forward,” Conners told her. “Taking a chance on young people, seeing the fire in their bellies, and giving them the opportunity that somebody gave me.”

Cosmé runs public affairs at Bellevue Strategies.

Cosmé cut her teeth in politics working for some of the state's top Democrats.

JESSICA COSMÉ VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS Bellevue Strategies After spending more than a year as the director of public affairs for the government relations firm Bellevue Strategies, Jessica Cosmé recently took over as the company’s vice president of public affairs and strategic communications. Her clients include Amazon, PECO, the African American Chamber of Commerce, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Everytown for Gun Safety. Now in her fourth year at Philadelphia-based Bellevue, Cosmé, a Western Pennsylvania native who earned her degree in political science from Slippery Rock

University and has served on the school’s Council of Trustees, also leads the firm’s coalition work to raise the minimum wage and reduce gun violence in Philadelphia.

Her experience in communications goes well beyond her current work navigating relationships with political, nonprofit, business and labor leaders. Cosmé’s past roles include serving as the national finance director for Gov. Tom Wolf during his first term, advising state legislators and members of Philadelphia City Council, and working as the communications director for the state’s staff nurses and practitioners union.

Cosmé said that after nearly a decade in politics, she realized that “you need to be able to tell your story and bring others into your work for it to last,” and that she’s “found the right team and place to bring it all together” at Bellevue.

JEFFERSON HEALTH; BELLEVUE STRATEGIES

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

would like to congratulate all the recipients of City & State’s “Above and Beyond” Award, including our friend and colleague

Angela Bowie We thank Angela for being such a valued team member and her dedication to helping communities across the Commonwealth access reliable and affordable transportation. lyft.com

Congratulations!

Glennis Harris

Senior Vice President, Customer Experience

on being named a recipient of an

Above & Beyond Award

from City & State

From your team at

TM

38 CityAndStatePA .com

Dahlkemper served as Erie County Executive from 2014 to 2022.

March 21, 2022

KATHY DAHLKEMPER FORMER COUNTY EXECUTIVE Erie County

Dahlkemper laid the groundwork for Erie County Community College.

Kathy Dahlkemper has had a decorated career in public service. She most recently served as Erie County Executive, a position she held from 2014 to 2022. In this role, Dahlkemper helped facilitate the creation of the Erie County Community College and the Blasco Idea Lab. Dahlkemper prioritized strengthening the county’s economic development environment and helped establish the county’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission.

Prior to her time as county executive, Dahlkemper represented the state’s 3rd Congressional District, serving as a member of Congress from 2009 to 2011. While in office, Dahlkemper authored a landmark amendment to the Affordable Care Act – the “Young Invincibles” amendment – that allows young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance policies until the age of 26.

Dahlkemper has also served on multiple state commissions, being named to both the Great Lakes Commission and Gov. Tom Wolf’s Redistricting Reform Commission.

Dahlkemper is also a member of the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics advisory board, a project of Chatham University that aims to provide women with the education and training to pursue opportunities in politics and government.

“I always want to leave an organization, a place, an event better than I found it,” Dahlkemper said. “We can never fix all the things that need to be done to ensure equal opportunities for all, but we can do what we can to bend the arc of history.”

We congratulate Allegheny College President

Dr. Hilary L. Link Recipient of the Above & Beyond Award

CONGRATULATIONS

TO ABOVE & BEYOND AWARDEE

FLORENCIA GREER POLITE, MD

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March 21, 2022

SUSAN GOBRESKI DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT POLICY League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Over the course of a lengthy career devoted to public policy, Susan Gobreski has seen firsthand the increasing polarization of America’s electorate. But regardless of whether a person leans left or right, “every issue you care about starts with individuals being able to participate,” Gobreski observed. “Who gets to vote, how it’s decided, who’s deciding – these things matter.”

As director of government policy for the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Gobreski chairs a committee that promotes voting rights, voting policy and redistricting.

Her recent priority has been making voting accessible and convenient for everyone eligible – advocating

for early voting, automatic voter registration and voting by mail.

Gobreski was attuned to civic awareness as a child in Chester County, where her mother was a professor of political communications and her father worked as an environmental engineer. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Temple University, she spent a decade as president and executive director of Education Voters PA, a nonprofit she founded.

Gobreski then served as the director for community schools for the City of Philadelphia until starting the Sedgwick Group, a Philadelphia consultancy where she advises the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. In 2020, she volunteered with Power the Polls, a nonprofit that focuses on ensuring proper staffing levels for polling places.

“The question is, do our policies encourage or discourage people from voting?” Gobreski asked. “My goal is to modernize our system so that those in power can’t stack the deck for themselves.”

Gobreski is the principal of Sedgwick Group, a women-owned consulting firm.

SEDGWICK GROUP/LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF PENNSYLVANIA

Gobreski is government policy director for the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters.

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S

Lynn Charytan Executive Vice President & Senior Deputy General Counsel, Comcast Corporation and Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Comcast Cable

Comcast NBCUniversal joins City & State PA in congratulating you and all of the exceptional women being recognized at the Above & Beyond Women Gala. We appreciate your resourceful leadership and are proud of your accomplishments.

Clemens Food Group joins in congratulating State Senator Maria Collett and all the Above and Beyond honorees that make Pennsylvania a great place to work

Clemens Food Group Expansion Opening July 2022

42 CityAndStatePA .com

FLORENCIA GREER POLITE CHIEF, DIVISION OF GENERAL OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY

March 21, 2022

Greer Polite is a professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at Penn Medicine.

Penn Medicine

For her vaccine efforts, Greer Polite was named one of Philly's citizens of the year.

PENN MEDICINE

Dr. Florencia Greer Polite got the COVID-19 vaccine the first day she was eligible; over the following 48 hours, she posted her reactions on Instagram. Only around 4% of doctors in the U.S. are Black, and Polite knew she was an influencer for communities of color.

“Transparency has to be at the forefront, especially with America’s history of medical racism,” explained Polite, who heads Penn Medicine’s division of general obstetrics and gynecology and is a professor at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine.

“I am not traditionally an early adopter, but I knew this could be a gamechanger for the racial disparities we see with COVID.” Her instinct was correct: In the months that followed, dozens of people told Polite they’d gotten the shot because of her.

Polite spearheaded Penn Medicine’s Operation CAVEAT (COVID Acceptance Vaccine Education and Adoption Taskforce), which addresses vaccine hesitancy in staff members of color through open forums and partnerships with community organizations. Polite has made a point of sharing her experience with Black employees, who then often get vaccinated “and become conduits to the community” themselves, she noted.

Polite, who wanted to be a doctor since her Mt. Airy childhood, graduated from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “I love taking care of women across the lifespan,” she said.

And she relishes being a role model: “I am a woman physician of color, a wife and a mother. When medical students look up and say, ‘Hey, could I also do all this?’ They know I’m going to answer: ‘Sure, you can.’”

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March 21, 2022

DANIELLE GROSS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Gross is a spokesperson for Shelly Lyons Public Affairs.

Gross has emerged as an influential voice in statewide public policy debates.

Danielle Gross traces her liberal advocacy to a childhood in rural Cambria County during a time when steel mills were shuttering and miners found work increasingly hard to come by. The South Fork Dam, whose 1889 collapse led to 2,000 deaths in the notorious Johnstown Flood, was a nearby reminder of Pennsylvania’s checkered environmental and social legacy.

Those experiences propelled Gross toward the advocacy she does for clients at Shelly Lyons, known for representing environmental causes, public sector unions and public education. Gross is particularly proud of her work with PA Schools Work, the coalition that lobbies for increased public school funding. “We’ve been able to unite stakeholders around efforts to push through a more favorable funding formula,” said Gross, who also advocates for her local public schools in York County and is the weekly Democratic commentator on ABC 27’s “This Week in Pennsylvania.”

Gross is known for her ability to stay ahead of the everevolving media landscape.

“When I started in 2004, we were still sending faxes,” she recalled. Convincing her clients to embrace social media was “an uphill battle” for Gross, a prominent liberal voice on Twitter. “In the beginning, lawmakers weren’t on it,” she explained. “But today, we have to communicate today on a lot more channels – and differently.”

SHELLY LYONS PUBLIC AFFAIRS & COMMUNICATIONS

Shelly Lyons Public Affairs & Communications

Harris is senior vice president of the Carlislebased GIANT Company.

March 21, 2022

City & State Pennsylvania

KADIDA KENNER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR New Pennsylvania Project

Harris oversees more than 35,000 employees at the GIANT Company.

GLENNIS HARRIS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

THE GIANT COMPANY; NEW PENNSYLVANIA PROJECT

The GIANT Company On the South Side of Chicago, Glennis Harris learned about relationships from her parents, a teacher and a fireman. “They taught me how important it was to show care in every interaction,” recalled Harris.

It’s a skill Harris brings to her role overseeing 35,000 team members at The GIANT Company, where she never forgets that those individuals power the chain’s 190 supermarkets.

Since joining the company a year ago, Harris has helped open four new stores, along with reopening GIANT’s Philadelphia flagship after it was damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. The retail veteran

also oversaw the launch of a Philadelphia e-commerce center and the expansion of delivery to New Jersey – both in response to pandemic-driven demand for the GIANT Direct online service.

Harris started her supermarket career in 1987 at the SuperValu/ Jewel-Osco chain; by 2012, Progressive Grocer Magazine recognized her as a Top Woman in Grocery in the Rising Stars division. A psychology major at the University of Illinois-Chicago, Harris has always focused on people: She sponsors GIANT’s CARE resource group, which supports parents and caregivers, and mentors young, college-bound women through her church ministry.

“Being a female leader in a male-dominated world is something I don’t take lightly,” said Harris.

“I have a responsibility to ensure women always have a seat at the table. My passion is helping others achieve their best.”

Political activism is in Kadida Kenner’s DNA. “My great-grandfather was a civil rights activist in Memphis who was assassinated in 1911,” said Kenner, a Monroeville native. “My mom took me to cast ballots with her every Election Day. Our dinner table conversations were about the importance of voting.”

Kenner has written a new chapter in the family political playbook with the New Pennsylvania Project, a West Chester-based voting rights organization modeled after Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ New Georgia Project. As founding executive director, Kenner’s mission is to register and mobilize Pennsylvanians who have often been electorally marginalized – especially youths and communities of color. Kenner is also co-chair of Why Courts Matter – Pennsylvania, which advocates for independent state and federal courts.

In 2008, Kenner was director of the Sephora at the King of Prussia Mall when Barack Obama’s presidential campaign team asked her to do his makeup for a campaign speech. Inspired by that meeting, Kenner decided on the spot to quit retail, complete her Temple University degree in broadcast journalism, and volunteer on political campaigns, including those for Obama and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

After roles at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association TV network and the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, Kenner started the New Pennsylvania Project in 2021. She’s pleased at the organization’s progress in registering the 1.1 million eligible Pennsylvanians. “And even as our voting rights are in peril, I’m proud to see similar projects popping up elsewhere,” she said.

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Kuniholm is chair of Fair Districts PA, a nonpartisan citizens group working to stop gerrymandering.

CAROL KUNIHOLM CHAIR

Kuniholm is working to reform the redistricting process in Pennsylvania.

FAIR DISTRICTS PA

Fair Districts PA When Carol Kuniholm was an Episcopal youth pastor in Paoli, she was shocked by the inequities between the lives of her suburban charges and those of their counterparts from Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. “Their school didn’t have a library or a real playground,” she recalled of the Philadelphia children. “There were bail discrepancies. I saw whole families wrecked by bad policies.”

Kuniholm’s colleagues on the Pennsylvania Board of the League of Women Voters “had spent decades advocating for changes that never happened. And I realized why: gerrymandering.”

Fair Districts PA was born of this awakening. “We weren’t being heard, so we realized we needed to make a lot more noise,” said Kuniholm, a native New Yorker. She started the nonpartisan coalition in 2016 to push for a fairer redistricting process – and better representation in both Congress and the state legislature.

Weeks after the 2016 presidential election, Kuniholm was shocked when 1,000 people showed up for a public meeting. To date, more than 43,000 Pennsylvanians have attended Fair District PA’s 1,100 public events, and a team of volunteer speakers raises awareness statewide.

As a result, “we’ve gotten a lot of public attention on the mapping fight, and I believe the state legislative maps we have now are much fairer,” said Kuniholm. But she doesn’t intend to stop: “We’ve learned that power in Harrisburg is held by just a handful of leaders – and they won’t give that up easily.”

47 coCity & State PennsylvaniaMayes

March 21, 2022

chairs Cozen O'Connor's Business Law Department.

HILARY LINK PRESIDENT Allegheny College

Mayes is a founding board member of the nonprofit organization Ladies First.

SUZANNE MAYES CO-CHAIR, BUSINESS LAW DEPARTMENT Cozen O’Connor

ALLEGHENY COLLEGE; COZEN O'CONNOR

As the first female president of Allegheny College, Hilary Link is well aware of the importance of being a role model. From her stay-at-home, Radcliffe-educated mother to the working-mother provost at Barnard, Link has long cultivated those bonds. “I would say that I have consciously sought out role models who are women leaders,” she said “whether that's in higher education or in industry, or government, or anything you can think of, because I just think we keep learning from people who are doing things, either alongside us or ahead of us.”

Link, who holds a master’s and a Ph.D in Italian language and literature from Yale University, has taken a similar approach to leading Allegheny College. A member of the Climate Leadership Steering Committee of Second Nature’s Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitment, Link recently oversaw the Gators’ successful transition to carbon-neutral status – one of the first 10 colleges in the U.S. to do so.

The Renaissance scholar’s current focus is on continuing the shift to a multidisciplinary approach that requires all Allegheny students to major and minor in two different areas. “We know Gen Z – they want to be more than one thing,” Link said. “They care deeply about diversity.

They want to solve these big, intractable problems. And I personally believe that those thinkers of the Renaissance kind of modeled the way of thinking that we're going to need to do that.”

In her 15th year at the firm and third term on its board of directors, Suzanne S. Mayes has continued to become an even more integral member of the Cozen O’Connor team. Mayes is the co-chair of the firm’s Business Law Department and Public & Project Finance Practice Group.

With a focus on municipal and project finance, she practices in the areas of economic development, transportation, public works and housing. She also acts as a bond counsel for state, county and municipal

clients and has completed several housing financings for state authorities.

Outside of Cozen O’Connor, Mayes is a founding member of the board of directors of Ladies First, a nonprofit organization that provides education and networking opportunities for female public finance professionals in the region.

With initial plans of becoming an environmental lawyer, Mayes quickly realized that she preferred the public-facing nature of the projects her first firm was assisting in financing. She said she’s been privileged for more than 30 years to play a role in helping to finance “infrastructure needs such as roads and bridges, parks and trails, municipal and school buildings, sports stadiums, airports and senior living facilities that improve the quality of life for the region.”

JOANNA MCCLINTON MINORITY LEADER Pennsylvania House of Representatives Joanna McClinton grew up around strong, capable women. Her mother organized a free church summer camp for youths who worked in the family deli; her pastor at Open Door Mission, the West Philadelphia church McClinton has attended her whole life, set a lasting example for a young McClinton by working her way through a master’s degree and then a doctorate.

McClinton, a Democrat who has represented the 191st District in Delaware and Philadelphia counties since 2015, is the first person of color and the first woman to lead either caucus in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where she serves as the minority

leader. “My whole life, I’ve been surrounded by women who showed me what it looks like to lead,” she said.

After graduating from LaSalle University and Villanova University School of Law, McClinton worked as an assistant public defender. In 2013, she became chief counsel to state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams.

“Watching him fight for public schools, as someone coming out of the court system, where many of my clients did not complete school – that inspired me to run,” McClinton recalled.

During the pandemic, McClinton has helped secure $225 million in American Rescue Plan funds to support health care workers.

She’s also the first person of color to serve on the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission. “To undo the damaging impact of generations of gerrymandering and set the course for an equitable future,” she said, “really is exciting.”

March 21, 2022

Harrisburg's first Black female leader, McClinton is also a minister.

PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS

Before joining the State House, McClinton worked as a public defender in Philadelphia.

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City & State Pennsylvania

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NIA NGINA MEEKS SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER GreenbergTraurig

Ngina Meeks is a senior marketing manager for the Philadelphiabased GreenbergTraurig.

GREENBERG TRAURIG

Meeks is a longtime political analyist and contributor to 6abc's "Inside Story."

For Nia Ngina Meeks, deciding to make the transition from longtime independent journalist/ analyst and educator to becoming the senior marketing manager for the Philadelphia office of the GreenbergTraurig law firm came down to one word: challenge. “I like to learn,” she explained, “and this opportunity came along – they were looking for someone who was well-versed in Philadelphia and the players and culture of Philadelphia.”

As a frequent panelist on “Inside Story,” the top-rated weekly public affairs television program in Philadelphia, and as the vice-chair of the African American collections committee at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a board member of the nonprofit Philadelphia VIP, Ngina Meeks certainly met GreenbergTraurig’s requirements.

While her role there is focused on public-facing work like the firm’s upcoming 25th anniversary in the Philadelphia market, she is also dedicated to promoting its pro bono efforts, its leading work as the first Philadelphia law firm to sign on to the city’s Read by Fourth literacy initiative, and mentoring efforts that allow her to pay back the invaluable support she was given on her journey.

“I’ve found a plethora of women mentors in the city of Philadelphia, across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, really across the country,” she said. “The key is really that sisterhood and that bond: I feel as though I’m a reflection of a light that’s been poured into me by many others.”

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ANNE NEVINS

March 21, 2022

Nevins is president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation.

PRESIDENT

Whether it’s eyeglasses for her two sons or books for herself, Anne Nevins always shops locally whenever possible. It’s important, she says, to practice what you preach – and Nevins preaches small business investment.

As a longtime Philadelphian who went to the University of Pennsylvania as an undergrad and received an master's degree in business administration from Wharton, Nevins has had plenty of first-hand experience in steering local businesses through myriad challenges since becoming president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation in 2020 – just as COVID-19 ended the beforetimes economy.

Nevins, who has been with PIDC in various roles since 2007, partnered with the City of Philadelphia to deliver $13 million in aid in one of the country’s earliest small business relief programs. She then helped coordinate between PIDC, the City of Philadelphia and other partners for “Respond, Restart, Recharge, Reimagine,” a four-part economic recovery program that has provided $70 million in grants and loans to more than 5,000 Philadelphia small businesses.

Originally from New York City, Nevins moved to the Philadelphia suburbs as a child. Her current neighborhood is Fairmount, where she supports her local public school as a member of Friends of Bache-Martin. “My core mission is driving growth to every corner of the city through investments to create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods, from West Philadelphia to the Navy Yard,” said Nevins.

During COVID, Nevins helped deliver millions in grants to small businesses.

PHILADELPHIA INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation

Oyler is president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association.

March 21, 2022

City & State Pennsylvania

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MARY OLIVEIRA VICE PRESIDENT, MEMBER GROWTH AND STRATEGY Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry

REBECCA OYLER PRESIDENT & CEO PA CHAMBER OF BUSINESS & INDUSTRY; ROGER THAT PHOTOGRAPHY

Resilience is a skill Mary Oliveira honed during a rocky childhood. It is also the quality she promotes at the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, where she has supported the state’s businesses through tough pandemic years.

“I always say, ‘Never give up.’ My goal is to equip others to feel confident,” said Oliveira. She was raised in Camp Hill by a single mother with a substance problem, and adopted by an aunt and uncle at age 13. “I think women leaders don’t feel as comfortable being honest about difficult upbringings – we’re afraid of that perception,” she added.

Oliveira earned a master’s degree in organizational development and leadership from Shippensburg University before working in finance. At the Chamber of Business and Industry, she immediately expanded membership and spearheaded a pandemic-era affinity partnership program that paired small businesses with resources like Salary. com, an employer strategy website.

Oliveira also organized the Bringing PA Back initiative, starting with free webinars with speakers from the Small Business Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and both the public and private sectors. “Nobody had a playbook for those shutdowns,” explained Oliveira. “We wanted to provide resources when our business community needed it the most.”

Oyler says the trucking industry has been front-andcenter during the pandemic.

Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association When Rebecca Oyler took over the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association last year, the priority was obvious: Get more truckers on the road to ease the shortage affecting the nation’s supply chain.

Both government relations and trucking are male-dominated fields, but Oyler knew she could succeed.

“I happen to be very good at what I do,” she noted, “so gender shouldn’t matter.”

Oyler aims to attract more women by advocating for shorter routes, more family-friendly schedules, and better facilities like bathrooms on the road. She’s also working to reform laws that prohibit

drivers under 21 from crossing state lines, which limits and often ends young trucking careers.

Oyler planned to continue her family’s Air Force tradition of service until a surprise Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis at 17 dashed her plans.

She then set her sights on a global career, studying Russian at Penn and earning a master’s degree from Georgetown’s international security studies program.

But after marrying a fellow Pennsylvanian, Oyler found herself back in Harrisburg, where she spent more than a decade working in policy at the Departments of State and Conservation and Natural Resources. More recently, she was the legislative director for the National Federation of Independent Business. “One thing I’ve learned over the years, moving from international to state policy, is that it doesn’t matter what the issue is,” Oyler affirmed. “What matters is how you work on it.”

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REBECCA RHYNHART Rebecca Rhynhart made history in 2018 when she became the first woman elected to be City Controller for the City of Philadelphia – and she’s been redefining the role of fiscal watchdog ever since. After a stint on Wall Street, Rhynhart, who received a bachelor's degree from Middlebury College and a master’s degree in of public administration from Columbia University, moved to Philadelphia in 2008 to work as the City Treasurer under thenMayor Michael Nutter.

Her experience working with municipalities on their finances made her realize the importance of a properly functioning government. “I am idealistic that government can work and that local government can work,” she said. Now in her second term as the city’s financial manager, Rhynhart called out Mayor Jim Kenney’s office for its lack of urgency in addressing increasing gun violence.

She’s become a vocal advocate for combating sexual misconduct, addressing the widening range of negative impacts of COVID-19 and diversifying the city’s workforce.

Expanding her auditing scope beyond the city’s finances, Rhynhart has looked into behavioral health and parking issues, and has become renowned for visualizing data in easy-to-understand formats for residents. She is also on many observers’ short lists to become the next mayor of Philadelphia.

Rhynhart works to strengthen the city's financial footing through regular audits.

Rhynhart was sworn in as Philadelphia's first female city controller in 2018.

KIELINSKI PHOTOGRAPHERS

PHILADELPHIA CITY CONTROLLER

March 21, 2022

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Prior to her career in politics and marketing, Roh was a journalist.

LISA SCHAEFER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CCAP

JANE ROH COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Philadelphia District Attorney's Office In her 10 years as a communications director in Philadelphia municipal government – first for City Council President Darrell Clarke, and since 2019 for District Attorney Larry Krasner – Jane Roh has won her share of both plaudits and vitriol. But nobody denies her effectiveness as a mouthpiece for progressive changemakers. Early in Clarke’s tenure as Council president, he took a stance for unions while the school district was under GOP-appointed state control – “the unpopular side

at the time, but ultimately on the right side,” Roh recalled.

Born in Korea, Roh grew up in Montgomery County, where, she said, her immigrant experience – especially her well-funded public education – “hugely informed my views on systemic injustice and economic equality.” After graduating from George Washington University, she worked in journalism at the National Journal in Washington, FOX News in New York City and Gannett newspapers in New Jersey.

Roh is proud of Krasner’s record 24 exonerations and of her work letting the public know about them and the other initiatives coming out of his office. “I’ve had the great luck to work in areas I am deeply passionate about: justice, public education, public health and safety, responsive government, LGBTQ inclusion and equality,” Roh said.

SUBMITTED; COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ASSOCIATION OF PENNSYLVANIA

Born in Korea, Roh said her immigrant experience has shaped her perceptions.

Lisa Schaefer is so ready for the question that she starts answering it even before it is finished. “If you’d asked me 10 years before now, if this was where I saw myself, I would have told you you were crazy, quite honestly,” she quipped. “This” is her role as the executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that represents all 67 counties.

As the leader of the 136-year-old organization, Schaefer employs skills she learned working on the government relations staff of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and in the state Senate to provide guidance, assistance and leadership for county commissioners on everything from legislative goals to educational priorities and communications. And for all but a few months since she took over the association’s top role in late 2019, she and her staff have done so in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic – which, according to Schaefer, was sort of a blessing in disguise. In addition to jump-starting her efforts to distinguish her administration from that of her male predecessor, who was in the role for 35 years, doing business in unprecedented times provided unprecedented opportunities for change.

“The silver lining – if there was one – of COVID really was that it meant we had to do things differently than we've done them in the past,” she explained. “And I think that really has accelerated, you know, looking at how we do things in the future.”

March 21, 2022

City & State Pennsylvania

JASMINE SESSOMS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

HILCO REDEVELOPMENT PARTNERS

Hilco Redevelopment Partners Whether in the public or private sector, Jasmine Sessoms is guided by her personal mission, which she describes thusly: “Making the city a cleaner, better and safer space – and connecting people to systems that normally shut them out.”

A product of South Philadelphia public schools and Morgan State University, Sessoms has planned weddings as a hotel catering manager; fundraised $14 million for Democrats, including Mayor Jim Kenney and Gov. Tom Wolf; and supervised the Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia, a municipal nonprofit.

At Hilco, Sessoms oversees philanthropic and community efforts and workforce development, including an initiative to upgrade workforces in communities of color from subcontractor to prime status.

Other examples of her efforts include strategic partnerships that provide healthy foods in lowincome areas and direct investment to local charities.

Along the way, Sessoms noticed how few people in public service looked like her. “So I created a program to solve that,” she explained. She Can Win, the nonprofit she founded nine years ago, has trained nearly 1,000 women to run for office and become a source of both knowledge and investment for politically ambitious women of color.

Sessoms recently stepped down from She Can Win, but takes her role-model status seriously – especially for her two young daughters. “Being a Black woman is an advantage,” Sessoms observed.

“I have a unique perspective on communities – and how to invest in them in meaningful and tangible ways.”

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Sessoms is senior vice president of corporate affairs for Hilco Redevelopment Partners.

Working for Philly, Sessoms helped bring the Octavius Catto Scholarship to fruition.

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KIM SOKOLOSKI PRINCIPAL, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney

Sokoloski is a government relations consultant with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

Stevenson's aim is to help low-income individuals avert credit problems.

BUCHANAN INGERSOLL & ROONEY; D.A.L.S.

Kim Sokoloski’s approach to life – both at work and away from it – can be found on a slip of paper carefully tucked into her curio cabinet at home. Written on that memento is advice from her late grandmother: “It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.”

“She gave it to me when I was growing up,” Sokoloski remembers. “She taught me to work hard and be kind... I don’t want people to think that I feel like I’m important – because I don’t. Everybody's important, but I think it's so much more important to be nice.”

That commitment to helping people has informed Sokoloski’s career, first in her numerous roles in the state Senate and House, and as director of legislative affairs with the Department of Health, and now with Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney. Her deep well of legislative, institutional and health care knowledge has helped her craft major wins like creating a program to help senior citizens who were being kicked off the state’s PACE program. She also helped to get a bill passed to prevent minors from buying lighter fluid. “They were dying from huffing” the fumes, she said.

“The working world is pretty tough right now for some industries,” Sokoloski said. “We’re just trying to do whatever we can to try to help raise awareness for those jobs that are sorely needed and help with some compensation issues.”

Sun makes recommendations to the governor on policies and procedures relating to the Asian Pacific American community.

March 21, 2022

City & State Pennsylvania

LYNETTE STEVENSON FOUNDER

D.A.L.S. Credit Solutions & Notary

Sun is the first female immigrant to lead the Pennsylvania GACAPAA.

STEPHANIE SUN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs

MARK GAVIN

In 2019, after losing her job, Lynette Stevenson founded D.A.L.S. Credit Solutions & Notary with a singular mission in mind: helping underserved communities achieve financial literacy.

A Pennsylvania native, Stevenson aspires to help low-income individuals and members of the LGBTQ community improve their financial literacy, with an emphasis on credit. Through her organization, Stevenson provides three main sets of services, including personal credit assistance, business credit assistance and mentoring efforts.

Stevenson, whose company holds more than 29 state and federal certifications, is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. She has spoken at conferences like the 2021 Society of Actuaries ImpACT Conference and the Small Business Expo’s 2021 National Conference. Stevenson provides weekly credit tips on topics like understanding the difference between a statement closing date and a payment due date, and how to approach diversion/ equity/inclusion credit risks, on social media using her #CreditTipTuesday hashtag.

Stevenson, a native of both Chester and Harrisburg, has vowed to continue working to help those in her community.

“Changes in the underserved while creating safe spaces were the prime reason for beginning DALS Credit Solutions,” she said. “The importance of financial literacy is the connective tissue to defeat many problems we face daily.”

When Stephanie Sun buttonholes fellow Asians to talk about COVID-19 vaccines, they’re likely to listen. That’s because Sun, who oversees Gov. Tom Wolf’s Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, probably speaks their language – she’s fluent in five, including Mandarin and Korean.

“So many immigrants have told me they’re encouraged to see me in this position,” said Sun. She came to Pennsylvania six years ago after a career that spanned corporate marketing in both China and South Korea and government roles, including at the China Cultural Center in Seoul.

Since her early stint as project

manager at the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, where she is now a board member, Sun has tackled the big issues facing Asian Americans, from language and cultural barriers surrounding access to health care and voting participation to the ongoing surge in anti-Asian hate crimes. At the commission, her work on the 2020 census resulted in the addition of the Chinese language across the state’s election system.

Asian communities have high rates of COVID misinformation, so Sun’s team organizes multilingual, culturally sensitive vaccine clinics at worship and cultural centers.

The commission is also running the first-ever statewide survey to gauge Asian attitudes around vaccines. “There’s a huge gap in statewide research on such a diverse community,” Sun noted.

“Immigrants bring so much to this country. But there are many barriers, and we need more support.”

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Varner is vice president for strategy at the Pennsylvania Health Care Association.

SHAYNA VARNER VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGY Pennsylvania Health Care Association

Varner is known for being an advocate for some of Pennsylvania's most vulnerable.

Pennsylvania has one of the oldest populations in the U.S. Yet long-term and senior health care weren’t on most Pennsylvanians’ radar until the pandemic – and that awareness is due in no small part to the efforts of Shayna Varner, who joined the Pennsylvania Health Care Association in 2019.

Varner brought fresh communications strategies to advocate for Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable in the effort to fight for regulatory waivers, new funding mechanisms and resources to assist the 70% of nursing home residents who rely on a historically underfunded state Medicaid program. “Every year, thousands of Pennsylvanians age into the demographic most in need of long-term care,” Varner noted. “It’s more important than ever to bring together the entire health care continuum to share solutions.”

Varner’s passion for public service was forged in her native West Virginia, where her father served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates for 20 years, mostly as Majority Whip. After completing a master’s degree in communications at West Virginia University, Varner honed her rhetorical skills as press secretary for West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.

“Growing up, I had a front row seat for public policy reforms and was always fascinated by the work of those behind the scenes,” recalled Varner. “I always knew I wanted to be a part of it.”

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PENNSYLVANIA HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION; NORTHEAST POLITICAL DIRECTOR

Walsh is regional political director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

JENIS WALSH REGIONAL POLITICAL DIRECTOR Pennsylvania Democrats While friends from Wilkes-Barre grew up and moved to big cities, Jenis Walsh focused her ambition at home. Walsh, inspired by an uncle who headed the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, recalled how she “saw the good you can do by getting involved in your own community.”

After graduating from Wilkes University, the practical-minded Walsh became an esthetician, doing nails as well as volunteering on Democratic campaigns. Part of a generation of young women galvanized by the 2016

presidential election – “a lot of us took for granted that we were going to win,” she said – Walsh ran for the state Democratic Committee, rallying endorsements and garnering the support that would catapult her into her current, full-time role as the regional political director for the state party. She is a 2020 graduate of Emerge, a national organization that trains Democratic women to run for office.

Walsh still gets her nails done in her old salon, keeping her ear to the ground on issues she’s passionate about, including abortion and LBGTQ rights, labor and unions. “Northeast Pennsylvania, for a very long time, has been a boys’ club,” Walsh said. “But I’ve seen an influx of women into public life at every level. And we may not have seen a lot of countries turn blue yet, but I’ve watched those margins close. Every time we push the dial left, it’s a victory.”

In addition to her work, Walsh is a dog mother to her rescue Corgi, Rosie.

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WANDA WILLIAMS HARRISBURG MAYOR Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams has been a mainstay in Harrisburg politics for nearly 20 years, including 15 as a City Council member. The first-term mayor unseated an eight-year incumbent in November 2021 and made history in the process, becoming only the second Black mayor and second female mayor in the city’s history.

Williams, who ran a campaign centered around improving the city’s infrastructure, reducing violence and expanding access to affordable housing, now has an opportunity to realize those goals as the city’s newest chief executive.

During her tenure on City Council, Williams was elected council president in 2010, a position she

held through 2021 and relinquished as she prepared to be sworn in as mayor in January 2022. As a member of City Council, Williams led challenges against Harrisburg’s Act 47 plan, and helped advance a “Ban The Box” proposal that removed questions about criminal history from city job applications.

Williams serves on the Pennsylvania Municipal League’s board and is a committee person on the Dauphin County Democratic Committee. Williams also worked for the state and served as president of AFSCME Local 3105 when she entered electoral politics, thanks to her involvement in a youth football league.

“The kids were always at my house,” she recalled. “I’d look at their homework and I thought, ‘You shouldn’t be doing this. You should be doing something else.’ I went to the school board and they said, ‘If you don’t like it, then run for school board.’ So that’s what I did."

MAYOR WANDA WILLIAMS

Williams was sworn in as the 39th mayor of Harrisburg in January.

Williams' career in public service began with a stint on the Harrisburg school board.

SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS! City & State PA will recognize forty individuals under the age of 40 in Philadelphia, who have already distinguished themselves in their fields and are on their way to amassing accomplishments well beyond their age. Nominate your friends and colleagues for this honor!

Honorees will be featured in a special edition of City & State PA Magazine debuting on May 30, 2022 and event on June 2, 2022.

To be eligible, nominees must be a Pennsylvania State resident and must be 39 years of age or younger as of May 29, 2022.

NOMINATE HERE Nominations due by March 25, 2022.

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CITY & STATE PENNSYLVANIA MANAGEMENT & PUBLISHING Publisher Susan Peiffer speiffer@cityandstatepa.com Group Publisher Tom Allon Event & Sales Director Lissa Blake Vice President of Operations Jasmin Freeman Comptroller David Pirozzi

Who was up and who was down in recent weeks

CREATIVE Creative Director Andrew Horton Senior Graphic Designer Aaron Aniton Photo Researcher Michelle Steinhauser Junior Graphic Designer Izairis Santana

THE BEST OF THE REST

DAVID MCCORMICK In a new Fox News poll, David McCormick holds a 9-point lead over Dr. Mehmet Oz and is leading the GOP field running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania with support from 24% of Republican voters. Ultimately, it will be the voters, and not the polls, who decide the primary. But for now, Pennsylvania voters seem to favor the former hedge fund executive’s prescription for fixing the country and not that of the celebrity physician.

ERIC HOLDER He may not be a Pennsylvanian, but former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has had a significant impact on the state’s most recent redistricting cycle.

Holder chairs the National Redistricting Action Fund, which submitted the congressional map selected by the state Supreme Court. When the U.S. Supreme Court denied an attempt to block the new map, it meant the Holder-backed plan will stay – for now.

TOM WOLF In his last term as governor, the percentage of voters who think Tom Wolf has done an “excellent” or “good” job as governor has dropped from 52% in July 2020 to 37% in March 2022 in a new Franklin & Marshall College poll. Voters appear to be souring on Wolf’s job as governor, or they’re just ready for a new face in the governor’s office.

Either way, not the best for the guv.

THE REST OF THE WORST

DAVID BURRITT David Burritt, the current president and CEO of U.S. Steel, is probably feeling a pocketbook pinch after the company was fined $1.8 million by the Allegheny County Health Department for hydrogen sulfide gas leaks at its Clairton Coke Works site. What’s bad news for U.S. Steel could be good news for noses throughout Allegheny County, however, if the fine helps get rid of that rotten egg smell.

KENELM SHIRK It’s been more than a year since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol – and Pennsylvanians are still being charged for their roles in the insurrection. The latest is Kenelm Shirk, a former solicitor in Akron Borough who was found by authorities after he reportedly threatened to kill his wife and planned to attack government officials in Washington, D.C. Found with several firearms and ammunition, we’re not sure he’s talking his way out of this.

ADVERTISING advertising@cityandstatepa.com Senior Sales Executive Michael Fleck mfleck@cityandstatepa.com Sales Executive Frank Feinberg ffeinberg@govexec.com Media Sales Associate Matt Syrvalin msyrvalin@cityandstatepa.com Sales and Events Coordinator Laura Hurliman events@cityandstatepa.com DIGITAL Digital Director Michael Filippi mfilippi@cityandstateny.com Marketing & Special Projects Manager Caitlin Dorman cdorman@cityandstateny.com Digital Marketing Associate Ben Taha ADVISORY BOARD Chair Michael Days Board members Keir Bradford-Grey, Samuel Chen, Joseph Hill, Mary Isenhour, Lindy Li, Teresa Lundy, Sharmain Matlock-Turner, Michael Newmuis, Dennis Owens, Bill Peduto, Dave Reed, Al Schmidt, Matt Smith, Paul Steinke, Al Spivey, Brian Tierney, Lauren Vidas, Ray Zaborney

Vol. 2 Issue 4 March 21, 2022

Above & Beyond Nina Ahmad, Rebecca Rhynhart and 38 other groundbreaking women of Pennsylvania

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March 21, 2022

Cover photography: Kielinski Photographers

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ROGER THAT PHOTOGRAPHY; THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR TOM WOLF

LOSERS STACY GARRITY Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity took swift action to divest the state Treasury of Russianaffiliated financial holdings following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a series of tweets, Garrity said “immediate action was necessary to protect Pennsylvania taxpayers and to show our support for Ukraine.”

Divestment has received support from across the political spectrum.

OUR PICK

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WINNERS

It’s the time of year when some see their dreams come true and others watch as their bubbles burst. The madness of March can be applied to the worlds of both college basketball and politics. With rising economic costs and upcoming primary elections, candidates are pushing to make their case to the selection committee, aka voters. Check out who in Pennsylvania could be poised for a Cinderella story, and whose resume is taking a hit.

EDITORIAL editor@cityandstatepa.com Editor-in-Chief Jenny DeHuff jdehuff@cityandstatepa.com Senior Editor Greg Salisbury gsalisbury@cityandstatepa.com Senior Reporter Justin Sweitzer jsweitzer@cityandstatepa.com Staff Reporter Harrison Cann hcann@cityandstatepa.com

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Compiled by CITY & STATE Compiled by CITY & STATE TUESDAY, JUNE 2021 TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 1, 2021

WEATHER: Philadelphia: partly sunny, high of 79; Harrisburg

WEATHER: Philadelphia: partly sunny, highhigh of of79; cloudy, high of 78; Pittsburgh: mostly cloudy, 76. Ha cloudy, high of 78; Pittsburgh: mostly cloudy, high of FROM CITY & STATE

* Republican state Rep. Jim Cox has introduced legislation t FROM CITY & STATE

the unemployment programs provided by the CARES Act wh motivate unemployment claimants to find jobs by offering th Republican state Rep.work.

Jim Cox has introduced legis bonus for finding

* the unemployment programs provided by the CARES NEW THIS MORNING: motivate unemployment claimants to find jobs by offe * Republican leaders of the state House of Representatives t bonus for finding work.

Friday to impeach Philadelphia elections officials if they cou ballots from the May 18 primary, The Philadelphia Inquirer re

NEW THIS MORNING:

* With the state’s wide-open races for governor and U.S. Se shape, Republican candidates with strong ties to Donald Tru

* Republican thecontenders state House of Represent and leaders consideredof strong for the party’s nomination ated Press reports.

Friday to impeach Philadelphia elections officials if th ballots from the May 18 primary, The Philadelphia Inq * Democratic state Rep. Amen Brown is crafting legislation t

get rid of a $5 copay state prison inmates are required to pa

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care after prison officials said inmates had avoided COVI * With the cal state’s wide-open races for governor and U because of the fee, NBC Philadelphia reports. shape, Republican candidates with strong ties to Don * Peoplestrong receiving contenders unemployment are about nom the s and considered forconcerned the party’s weeklong shutdown of the online unemployment claims syst ated Pressoverhaul, reports.

Spotlight PA reports.

* U.S. Sen. Bob Casey called GOP senators who haven’t sup * Democratic state Rep. Amen Brown is crafting legis January 6 commission, voting rights protections or gun cont get rid of a“impediments $5 copaytostate prison inmates require change” in an interview withare MSNBC. care after prison officials said inmates had avoided C

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