Entertainment

Women who inspire: history lessons from Pennsylvania politicos

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, female leaders from across the state share who they’ve admired.

Clockwise from top left: Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, Senator Maria Collett, Reesa Kossoff, Stacy Garrity, Brit Crampsie, Nina Ahmad & Senator Tracy Pennycuick

Clockwise from top left: Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, Senator Maria Collett, Reesa Kossoff, Stacy Garrity, Brit Crampsie, Nina Ahmad & Senator Tracy Pennycuick 39th District - Interim President Pro Tempore; Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus; Jared Gruenwald; Roger That Photography; James Robinson; Provided; PA Senate

March marks Women’s History Month, a time to highlight strong female role models. The Keystone State has had its fair share of changemakers already this year, with the commonwealth’s first female state Senate and House leaders being elected and first congresswoman of color taking the oath of office. With that in mind, we spoke to several of Pennsylvania’s leading women and asked them who has been their inspiration. 

Maria Collett, State Senator

Maria Collett
Senator Maria Collett. Photo credit: PA Senate Democratic Caucus; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images
  • “From recent history, it’s Michelle Obama. Not only was she breaking ground as the first First Lady of color, but she really taught us a lot about what it means to defend democracy, to stand with dignity and to rise up and use our voices in a unified and passionate way to make progress.”

Reesa Kossoff, Executive Director, Pennsylvania SEIU State Council

Reesa Kossoff
Reesa Kossoff. Photo credit: Harris & Ewing Collection; Jared Gruenwald
  • “As a woman in labor in PA, I go back to the ultimate woman in labor -- Frances Perkins.  Coming to prominence as the driving force behind safety reforms for workers and women following the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, Frances broke ground as the first woman to serve as a cabinet secretary and was the architect of the New Deal.  Frances' fingerprints are on the Social Security Act, the abolition of child labor, and the 40-hour work week and the minimum wage.”

Kim Ward, Senate President Pro Tempore 

Kim Ward, Senate President Pro Tempore
Kim Ward, Senate President Pro Tempore. Photo credit: Provided
  • “All mothers are history makers. My mother, Joanna Renko, is no different and has inspired me in so many ways. She taught me to never give up, even when a situation seems impossible, because there is always a way. Her steadfast example has instilled that same determination in me and I am beyond honored, as the first woman to hold the top position in the Pennsylvania State Senate, to be an example for women that they can do whatever they set their sights on.”

Brit Crampsie, Founder, Brit Crampsie Communications, LLC

Brit Crampsie
Brit Crampsie. Photo credit: James Robinson
  • “I was watching Hillary Clinton run for the 2008 nomination … she has always been strong and graceful under pressure, intelligent without apology, and tireless in the fight for every issue she cared about. She inspired me to engage in politics then and to stay with it through her setbacks and my own. She didn't shatter that last glass ceiling but her career cracked it over and over, and one of us is going to have an easier time breaking through because of her.”

Tracy Pennycuick, State Senator

Senator Tracy Pennycuick
Senator Tracy Pennycuick. Photo credit: PA Senate
  • “I deeply admire then-Maj. Rhonda Cornum. She was my flight surgeon at Ft. Rucker who helped me get through the waiver process after a knee surgery from an injury. I was able to finish flight school and become an Army aviator. She was always encouraging, supportive and someone I could bounce ideas off of. Her strength and courage after being taken as a prisoner of war during Operation Desert Storm has always been inspirational to me.”

Nina Ahmad, President, Pennsylvania NOW

Nina Ahmad
Nina Ahmad. Photo credit: Provided
  • “My fondest memories of childhood are those spent with my mother either at bookstores, or her sitting patiently at my ballet lessons or cooking meals from faraway countries. She was always encouraging me to try new things that she never could since she was orphaned, losing her mother at age 2 and then her father by 7 … That she would move to a new country with different customs and language, at an advanced age, make friends and make the most of life despite missing her home was inspiring to me.”

Stacy Garrity, State Treasurer

Stacy Garrity
Stacy Garrity. Photo credit: Roger That Photography
  • “My grandmother June was a huge influence in my life and a true role model. She was the glue that held our family together, and she taught my sisters and me the importance of community service. I remember fondly the many times we visited local nursing homes to sing to the residents.”
X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.