Author: Pennsylvania Press Club

Representative Jesse Topper

PA House Republican Leader

Rep. Jesse Topper has been the voice of his neighbors of the 78th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since he was elected in 2014. In 2024, his Republican colleagues elected him as the House Republican Leader for the 2024-25 session. 

Since taking office, Topper has been a strong advocate for improved healthcare options for residents, particularly for those in rural areas. In recent legislative sessions, he has worked toward better educational opportunities for Pennsylvania students. As the Republican chairman of the House Education Committee, he worked across state government and with stakeholders to bring to fruition several key education initiatives that will improve the lives of Pennsylvania’s students at all levels of education while respecting taxpayers.

Topper is a lifelong resident of Bedford County and has two sons. Throughout his life, he has been very active in his community, participating in 4-H and the Boy Scouts, where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He also coaches football at Bedford High School, where he was a three-sport athlete.

A homeschooled graduate, Topper earned his bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State University. He is also a graduate of Leadership Bedford County and the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School.

Topper has remained active in his community, including having served as first and second vice president of the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce, as well as Bedford Borough Council. He also enjoys playing piano and organ at local churches and serving as a PIAA official in basketball and baseball.

PA Senator Gene Yaw

PA’s 23rd District

Senator Yaw serves on a number of Boards and Commissions including as Chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a member of the Environmental Quality Board, a member of the Pennsylvania Aggregate Advisory Board, and a member of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority.

Senator Yaw is a member of the Lycoming Law Association and Pennsylvania Bar Association, Pennsylvania Association for Justice, and a former member of the Board of Directors of Susquehanna Legal Services. He serves as “Of Counsel” with the McCormick Law Firm in Williamsport, a prominent firm which has been in continuous existence for 150 years.

A U.S. Army veteran, Yaw enlisted and went on to graduate from the United States Artillery and Missile Officer Candidate School in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He served an overseas tour of duty as an artillery officer and was honorably discharged as a 1st Lieutenant.

He graduated from Montoursville High School, attended Bucknell University, and earned degrees from Lycoming College and the American University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Senator Yaw has coached Little League Baseball and coached and refereed for the American Youth Soccer Organization. He is a member of the National Rifle Association, Ducks Unlimited, the Nittany Lion Club, the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce and the Central PA Chamber of Commerce. He received the 2010 Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award from the Susquehanna Council, Boy Scouts of America, the 2011 Lycoming College Alumni of the Year Award, the 2011 CAPPA Community Partner Award, the Central Pennsylvania State of Israel Bonds 2012 Israel Unity Award, the 2013 Pennsylvania Winery Association Industry Supporter Award, the 2014 Pennsylvania College of Technology Centennial Leadership Award, the 2015 Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health Legislator of the Year Award,  the 2019 Pennsylvania Water Environment Association Public Official of the Year Award and the 2021 Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts Legislator Leadership Award.

Most recently, Senator Yaw received the 2023 WVIA Good Neighbor Award, the 2023 Marcellus Shale Coalition Shale Gas Advocate Award, and was selected as the 2023 Clean Water Champion by the Choose Clean Water Coalition. Yaw has also been recognized by the National Federation of Independent Business as a Guardian of Small Business for several legislative sessions and by Americans for Prosperity – Pennsylvania for his consistent conservative legislative voting record. In May 2023, Sen. Yaw was named to the City and State Pennsylvania 2023 Energy and Environment Power 100 list.

A Loyalsock Township resident, Yaw is married to Ann S. Pepperman, Esquire. Together they have two children, Scott and Mackenzie, and four grandchildren.

U.S. Congressman Glenn Thompson

PA-15th District

A life-long resident of Howard, Pa., Congressman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson represents Pennsylvania’s Fifteenth District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Prior to being elected to Pennsylvania’s geographically largest congressional district, GT spent 28 years as a therapist, rehabilitation services manager, and a licensed nursing home administrator. Through his professional experiences, GT has touched the lives of thousands of individuals facing life-altering conditions. As a result, he has learned firsthand the importance of access to quality healthcare and has become a strong advocate for increased access, affordability, quality of care, and patient choice.

An Eagle Scout and 30+ year veteran of the Juniata Valley Boy Scout Council, GT has served as Scoutmaster, Council executive board member, and Council President. He has enriched the lives of youth throughout Central Pennsylvania. Among just 2,000 presented since 1969, GT received the National Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 2012.

GT is also a former member of the Bald Eagle Area School Board, past vice-chair of the Private Industry Council of the Central Corridor, and a former Workforce Investment Board member. Because of these experiences, he was appointed to the House Committee on Education & Workforce in 2009. For more than a decade, Rep. Thompson has served as Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus. In the 115th Congress, Thompson introduced the Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act which passed the House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law by President Donald Trump.

A community leader and a volunteer firefighter with over three decades of service, GT is acutely aware of the challenges facing Pennsylvania communities. As Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and a senior member of the Education & Workforce Committee, GT is in a unique position to bring his expertise and knowledge to bear on the issues facing rural businesses, communities, and families, in order to improve the lives of the citizens of the Fifteenth District.

GT is a top speaker on the House floor, he views this as a responsibility to be a strong voice for the citizens of the Fifteenth District and an opportunity to influence the Washington legislative agenda.

GT is a proud graduate of Penn State and Temple Universities, where he earned a B.S. and a Master of Education, respectively. He and his wife, Penny Ammerman-Thompson, have three adult sons, Parker, Logan, and Kale, and two grandsons. GT and Penny reside in Howard, Pa.

 

Representative Malcolm Kenyatta

Democratic National Committee, Vice Chair

Representative Malcolm Kenyatta is a third-generation North Philadelphia native and legislator currently serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He earned a B.A. in Public Communications and a minor in Political Science from Temple University, an M.S. in Strategic and Digital Communications from Drexel University, and completed the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executives in State and Local Government program. In 2023, he was appointed by President Joe Biden to chair the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans. Representative Kenyatta is a barrier-breaking public figure, becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color and one of the youngest people elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2018. In 2022, he became the first openly LGBTQ+ person of color to seek a U.S. Senate seat in American history. In April 2024, he made history again as the first openly LGBTQ+ person ever nominated for statewide office by a major political party in Pennsylvania when he became the Democratic nominee for Auditor General. In the general election, he earned nearly 3.1 million votes, the second-highest vote total for any Democrat on the ticket that year. In February 2025 he was elected as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Throughout his career, Representative Kenyatta has been a vocal proponent of protecting workers’ rights and rooting out government corruption and waste. He holds multiple legislative leadership roles, including as a member of the powerful State Government Committee with oversight of state agencies and elections, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Government Operations; Chair of the Financial Services and Banking Subcommittee in the Commerce Committee; and as a member of the Finance and Judiciary Committees. In 2020, he was chosen to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention alongside a group of other ‘Rising Stars, ’ and in 2024, he returned to the DNC as an individual speaker, continuing to represent the next generation of Democratic leadership. His groundbreaking political career and personal life have been the subject of two award-winning documentaries, including an Al Roker-produced feature-length film, Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn. Representative Kenyatta lives in North Philadelphia with his husband, Dr. Matthew Kenyatta, and their dog, Cleo.