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The Honorable Khalid Mumin

Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Education

For over 25 years, Dr. Khalid N. Mumin has served in various capacities as a teacher, dean of students, principal and central administrator. Most recently, Dr. Mumin served as the Superintendent of Schools at Lower Merion School District. Prior to Lower Merion, Dr. Mumin was the Superintendent of Reading School District for seven years. Beginning as a Secondary English teacher in Scotland, Pennsylvania in 1997, Dr. Mumin rose through the leadership ranks of the education system in Pennsylvania. Dr. Mumin is committed to promoting and sustaining student achievement, equity and access to educational programming for all students, as well as creating plans that are fiscally responsible. He has been recognized nationally as a “School Board Savvy Superintendent,” and is the author of the book entitled Problem Child: Leading Students Living in Poverty Towards Infinite Possibilities of Success.

Dr. Mumin earned a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Education in Teaching & Curriculum from Pennsylvania State University, a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary English Education from Shippensburg University, and an Associate of Arts in English from Northeastern Christian Junior College.

Follow Secretary Dr. Khalid N. Mumin on twitter: @PDESecretary

 

James Lee, President & CEO

Susquehanna Polling & Research

Susquehanna Polling and Research (SP&R) is a nationally recognized, survey research and polling firm headquartered in Pennsylvania, and specializes in a full range of research services for businesses and state agencies, national and state trade associations, hospitals and health systems, candidates for public office and media outlets. The firm conducts polling in more than thirty states. Founded in 2000, SP&R includes a team of research associates with more than 50 years of combined experience, including telephone agents, focus group recruiters and other consultants. Susquehanna Polling and Research acquired The Bartlett Research Group in 2016, a Harrisburg-area focus group company that has been conducting qualitative research and focus group services for a wide range of national and state clients since 1986.

SP&R’s publicly released polling has been quoted in numerous national platforms including FOX News, MSNBC, CNN, the Rush Limbaugh radio program, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and USA Today. SP&R was profiled by CBS’s Inside Edition on two separate episodes for its unmatched accuracy in the 2020 battleground polling, and the nationally acclaimed, polling aggregator Real Clear Politics (www.realclearpolitics.com) rated SP&R the #1 most accurate polling firm in the nation for its accuracy in the 2020 presidential election in multiple states.

Jim earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College, and has 12 credits earned towards an M.P.A. program at Shippensburg University. Jim resides in Thompsontown, Juniata County, with his wife Dr. Megan Kurlychek, and has two daughters, Ava and Alexis, ages 19 and 15.

Secretary Al Schmidt

Secretary of the Commonwealth

The Honorable  Jordan A. Harris

Pennsylvania House Majority Appropriations Chair

Jordan A. Harris was first elected in 2012 to represent the 186th Legislative District, which comprises communities in south and southwest Philadelphia. Harris began his ascension in leadership in 2018, after being elected Whip for the Democratic Caucus of the House of Representatives. Most recently, his colleagues elected him as the Democratic Appropriations Chair for the 2023-24 legislative session. Harris is the first African American to serve as both Whip and Appropriations Chair and the second African American in either position. Harris has also served as Chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.

A lifelong resident of south Philadelphia, Harris graduated from Philadelphia’s John Bartram Motivation High School. He attended Millersville University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Government and Political Affairs. He holds a master’s degree in Education from Cabrini College and is currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at Neumann University. Before pursuing a career in public service, Harris focused on his passion for helping children and young adults—as an educator in the city of Philadelphia, an employee in the Philadelphia Public School System, and as the Executive Director of Philadelphia’s Youth Commission.

Through his legislative work, Harris has become a national leader in criminal justice reform. Along with Republican co-sponsor Rep. Sheryl Delozier, Harris authored Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate Law. Clean Slate was signed into law in 2018 by Governor Tom Wolf and is regarded as a national model for automatically sealing certain criminal records. Since passing Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate Law, over 40 million criminal records have been automatically sealed in Pennsylvania, and multiple states have passed automatic record-sealing legislation. Congress currently has Clean Slate legislation awaiting action. On June 5, 2023, Harris and Delozier’s expansion of Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support and is currently awaiting action by the Senate.

Harris also advocates reforming Pennsylvania’s outdated, archaic, and overly punitive probation system. In the 2021-22 legislative session, he co-sponsored with Delozier a probation reform bill with wide bipartisan support to reduce the incidents of technical violations that hold individuals under constant supervision.

Harris was named one of The Philadelphia Tribune Magazine’s “10 People Under 40 to Watch in 2011.” He was selected as Talk Magazine’s 101st person on their “2017 Most Influential Person” list in PA. He also received Odunde365’s 2017 Community Service Award for Positively Impacting Lives. In 2017, Philadelphia Magazine named Harris one of “Philadelphia’s 100 Most Influential People.” In 2019, Harris and the other bipartisan, bicameral Criminal Justice Reform Caucus co-founders were awarded the Allegheny College Prize for Civility in Public Life. In 2023, he was named as one of “Philadelphia’s 150 Most Influential Philadelphians” by Philadelphia Magazine.

Harris is President of the Board of Directors at Lincoln Day Educational Center, the oldest continuously operating African-American Day School in the country. Harris currently serves as a member of the Council of Trustees at his alma mater – Millersville University. He serves as a Member of the Board of the Hardy Williams Education Fund, the Christian Street YMCA, and the Knight Foundation. He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Nu Sigma Chapter and Prince Hall Free and Accepted Masons Cephas Lodge #98.