Author: Pennsylvania Press Club

Austin Davis
Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania

Growing up in the Mon Valley in western Pennsylvania – a longtime industrial center outside Pittsburgh – Austin Davis saw the struggles of working families firsthand. He watched his mom – a hairdresser in McKeesport for more than 40 years – juggle raising a family with putting food on the table, and he watched his dad work hard every day as an ATU bus driver.

Austin knew from an early age he wanted to dedicate his life and career to public service. Throughout his career, he has fought for economic equality, worked to lift people out of poverty and secure fair funding for education, and has been committed to bettering the lives of people in western Pennsylvania.

In high school, when he felt young people needed a voice in city government, Austin founded and served as chairman of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council under McKeesport Mayor Jim Brewster. Working with city leaders, Austin helped combat rising youth violence and provided the young people of McKeesport with more opportunities to get involved in civic life.

Austin is a first generation college graduate in his family, and after studying political science at the University of Pittsburgh, he began pursuing a career in public service. By the age of 21, the Tribune-Review called him “a veteran at the politics of helping others.”

Beginning in 2012, Austin joined Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s team, spearheading the office’s vision and transition teams in the early days of the administration and serving as Fitzgerald’s representative on the Jail Oversight Board; the Kane Foundation; the Minority, Women, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Advisory Board; and the Shuman Detention Center Advisory Board.

Then in 2018, Austin successfully ran for the state House of Representatives to represent the Mon Valley and his hometown of McKeesport.

Rep. Austin Davis took the oath of office to serve the people of the Mon Valley on February 5, 2018. When he was sworn in, Austin became the first African American to serve as state representative for the 35th Legislative District in Allegheny County, and he became one of only four African American lawmakers to represent a majority-white district.

Currently, Austin serves as chair of the Allegheny County House Democratic Delegation and vice chair of the House Democratic Policy Committee, as well as serving on the House Appropriations Committee, House Consumer Affairs Committee, House Insurance Committee, and House Transportation Committee. Austin is also a member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, Climate Caucus, and PA SAFE Caucus.

Austin remains committed to the Mon Valley and McKeesport, serving as a board member of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, Communities in Schools of Pittsburgh, and Auberle.

In November 2022, Austin made history and was elected as the first Black Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, and as the youngest Lieutenant Governor elected in the country. Austin is proud to work alongside Josh to move Pennsylvania forward in Harrisburg.

Austin currently resides in McKeesport with his wife, Blayre Holmes Davis.

Guest Speaker
Sen. Sharif Street
Chair, PA Democratic Party

Senator Sharif Street, elected to the Pennsylvania Senate in 2016, represents the Third Senatorial District of Philadelphia.

An attorney by profession, he began his public career as a community activist, organizing a Town Watch group while in law school. He graduated cum laude from Morehouse College with a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law, where he served as president of the Penn Law Democrats.

Before being elected Senator, he worked as a staffer for the Pennsylvania Senate, serving as the Chief Legislative Advisor to the Democratic Chair of the Housing and Urban Development Committee and had the primary responsibility for overseeing legislative, housing, environmental and economic development initiatives.

Sen. Street currently serves as the Democratic Chair of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and the Senate State Government Committee.

In 2022, he made history when he was elected the first Black chairperson of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party during Juneteenth weekend.

Sen. Street is a father of five children and lives in North Philadelphia with his wife, April.

 

Guest Speaker
Leigh Chapman
Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of State

Leigh M. Chapman was appointed Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth in January 2022. In this role, Chapman leads the Pennsylvania Department of State.

The mission of the Department is to promote the integrity of the electoral process, to support economic development through corporate filings and transactions, to protect the health and safety of the public through professional licensure, to maintain registration and financial information for thousands of charities, and to sanction professional boxing, kick-boxing, wrestling, and mixed martial arts events in the commonwealth. The department upholds the highest standards of ethics and competence in the areas of elections, campaign finance, notarization, professional and occupational licensure, and charitable solicitation.

Previously, Chapman served as executive director of Deliver My Vote. She also held senior leadership positions at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and other non-partisan, non-profit election reform and advocacy organizations. From 2015 to 2017, Chapman served as policy director at the Department of State, advancing key agenda items including the implementation of electronic voter registration.

Chapman earned a bachelor’s degree in American studies and history from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the Howard University School of Law.

 

Guest Speaker
Shamaine Daniels
Democratic Candidate for Congress
10th Congressional District

Shamaine Daniels is an at-large member of the Harrisburg City Council. She assumed office in 2014. Her current term ends on January 5, 2026.

She is the Democratic candidate for Congress in the 10th District, opposing incumbent Rep. Scott Perry.

Born in Venezuela, she came to the United States with her family at the age of 13. She earned a bachelor’s degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 2000, a graduate degree from the University of Cincinnati in 2004, and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 2004.