Candidate for
State Representative; District 172; Democratic Party

I was born in Philadelphia in 1952. I lived in West Philadelphia for two years and then my family moved to Wilmington, Delaware, and then Marion, Ohio, before settling down outside of Reading, PA.

I graduated from Exeter Township Senior High School in 1970.

From August 1, 1976 to January 6th, 1977 I hiked the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. This once in a lifetime opportunity showed me things about myself, but also showed me the wisdom of public land designation. Managing public land for recreation, wilderness, and conservation is a wonderful policy.

I received my Bachelor of Arts Degree in U.S. History from Temple Uni. in 1981. Later, I studied public administration in graduate school at the University of Montana.

After graduate school in Montana I ran the first door-to-door membership canvass for the Montana Environmental Information Center. This was in Kalispell, Helena, Bozeman.

For the next two and a half years I was the Director/Organizer of the Butte Community Union, a low-income citizens organization that worked on public policy issues. This activist organization tried to improve the lives of citizens of modest income through thoughtful, planned, organized, and prioritized public activity.

Upon returning to Philadelphia I worked as an organizer for Action Alliance of Senior Citizens of Greater Philadelphia. This well organized, broad based alliance of elderly Philadelphians fought City Hall, Harrisburg, and D.C. on health care and cost-of-living issues.

For the next two years I did fair housing work for three agencies: the Fair Housing Action Center at the Tenants' Action Group of Philadelphia, the Fair Housing Council of Montgomery County, and the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at H.U.D.

I left H.U.D. to take a position with Phila. 8th District City Councilman Alvin Stewart as a constituent services representative. After working for Councilman Stewart for one year I moved to the staff of Councilman Angel Ortiz as a researcher.

After fourteen months Councilman Ortiz encouraged me to return to the Action Alliance of Senior Citizens of Greater Philadelphia to be their staff Director, when AASC called.

My next position was with the Energy Cooperative Association of Pennsylvania (ECAP), marketing "green" and dirty electricity after the deregulation of the cost of electricity generation. At this cooperative the customers were the owners.

I left ECAP to become City Councilman-at-Large David Cohen's legislative aide, where I remained for three and a half years.

In the summer of 2003 I decided to run for the 172nd District Legislative seat in the PA General Assembly, and now I am doing this for the fourth time.