Author: Pennsylvania Press Club

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.

Guest Speaker
Rep. Seth Grove  (R-York)

Seth Grove has represented the 196th District in York County since 2008.

He earned his B.A. in Public Administration from York College in 2002. He then attended Graduate Work in Political Management at George Washington University. His professional experience includes working as a legislative assistant for both State Representative Todd Platts and State Representative Stan Saylor and as Chief of Staff for State Representative Keith Gillespie

During his time in the State House, Rep. Grove has served on 13 of the 26 standing committees. In addition to his legislative duties, he has served as an APPRISE counselor for the York County Area Agency on Aging. He is a member of the HACC York Campus Advisory Committee, Dover Lions Club, the Dover Fish and Game Association, Life Member of the National Rifle Association, and the Dover/York YMCA.

He resides in Dover with his wife, Dr. Kacey Grove, and their children, Andrew, Connor, and Raegan.