|
Hello Neighbors, Community Members and Friends,
|
|
You’re invited! Next Saturday, May 2, we would love to have you join us from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Beverly Hills Middle School for our Youth Career Fair.
We’re bringing together representatives from youth training programs, businesses and organizations seeking summer employees, apprenticeship programs, and more for young people between the ages of 14 and 24. This is a great opportunity to explore future career options and learn about steps you can take now to prepare for those careers, or to line up a summer job for when school lets out in June.
Taking time now to build a foundation of work experience can set you up for a better future career—and help you earn money now, too.
Register in advance here. We look forward to seeing you!
In service,
|
Great news from the PA Black Maternal Health Caucus!
|
This week, the state Senate passed my legislation allowing nurse-midwives to refer patients for pelvic floor therapy, and it now heads to Governor Shapiro’s desk to be signed into law.
Midwives are highly educated, highly trained pregnancy care providers and birth attendants, and they often receive less recognition than they deserve. This new law will expand their role as care providers and save patients who need pelvic floor therapy the extra steps of scheduling an appointment with other providers simply to obtain a referral.
This bill is one of two I introduced this session that focus on expanding the role of midwives and is part of the PA Black Maternal Health Caucus’s Momnibus bill package.
My co-chairs and I are proud to see another Momnibus bill become law.
|
Policy Hearing on utility rates
|
On Wednesday, I participated in a hearing coordinated by the House Policy Committee in response to PECO’s requested—and then revoked—12.5% rate increase. At the hearing, testifiers shared how new rate hikes would devastate families already struggling to make ends meet. A staggering statistic is that 1 in 20 households has debt caused by their utility bills alone.
Leaders from PJM, PECO, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project, Community Legal Services, and the Pennsylvania Office of the Consumer Advocate attended to hear from these testifiers and from legislators like me.
|
A Landmark Step for Reproductive Freedom
|
On Monday, the Commonwealth Court struck down a ban on public funding for abortion, ruling it unconstitutional and recognizing reproductive autonomy as a right.
For decades, this policy denied coverage to those with the fewest resources, creating a clear inequity in access to care.
This is a historic victory for protecting reproductive rights in Pennsylvania. The court recognized what we have known for some time: decisions about a woman’s body are hers. We know that abortion is part of comprehensive healthcare, and its accessibility should not be limited by government oversight.
I applaud the court for taking this step in affirming a woman’s right to choose her reproductive decisions and for allowing greater access to abortion across the Commonwealth.
|
Bringing Black Maternal Health Week Home
|
Testifying at Philadelphia City Hall
|
In addition to all our Black Maternal Health Week events at the Capitol last week, Rep. Morgan Cephas and I brought our advocacy back home to Southeast Pennsylvania at the Black Maternal Health Day of Advocacy at Philadelphia City Hall. We testified before City Council in support of the Black Maternal Health Week resolution and were honored to continue sharing information about this critical issue.
|
Black Maternal Health panel with the
National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.
|
Last Saturday, I participated in a panel discussion hosted by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Pennsylvania Chapter, to bring even more Black maternal health awareness to our region. Also in Philadelphia, the panel brought together leaders and experts in Black maternal health care and advocacy to share information and strategies to improve outcomes.
|
Teach Plus PA Annual Celebration
|
This week, I had the opportunity to attend the Teach Plus PA annual celebration, Empowered to Lead, Drive to Succeed. Teach Plus PA’s mission is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take on leadership roles and improve equity, opportunity, and student success.
Their leaders are not just teaching in classrooms, they also participate in programming designed to help them enact purposeful, positive change in the Pennsylvania public school system.
At this year’s event, I had the honor of getting to know Leon Smith, a Delaware County high school teacher who was just named the 2026 National Teacher of the Year. In addition to teaching social studies at Haverford High School, he is a Teach Plus PA board member and an alum of their Policy Fellowship program. Congratulations!
|
Thursday, April 30 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
SEPTA Drives the Economy small business event
Twentieth Century Club, 84 S. Lansdowne Ave., Lansdowne
|
Saturday, May 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Youth Career Fair
Beverly Hills Middle School, 1400 Garrett Rd., Upper Darby
Register here
|
Saturday, April 25
Unstoppable: A Girls Summit
Penn State Brandywine
|
Saturday, May 2 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Upper Darby Township Annual Mental Health Fair
Observatory Park
101 Tobacco Rd, Upper Darby Township, PA 19082
RSVP to MBillupscouncil@upperdarby.org or 610-564-2856
|
Saturday, May 30 at 10:30 a.m.
Laura’s Children Foundation 1 Mile & More walk/run
Bonner-Prendie High School
403 N. Lansdowne Ave., Drexel Hill
|
Pennsylvania State Capitol
25-A East Wing
Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717) 783-4907
|
District Office
1500 Garrett Rd.
Upper Darby, PA 19082
(610) 259-7016
|
Want to stay up to date on all my happenings in Harrisburg, the 164th Legislative District and beyond? Or do you want to get the latest info on our events and office hours? Make sure to follow me on all my social pages using the icons below!
|
If you need assistance with any state-related issue, you can reach out to my office.
Thank you for letting our team proudly serve you, your families, and the stakeholders in the 164th in East Lansdowne, Lansdowne, Milbourne, and Upper Darby.
Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more updates and events happening in Harrisburg and the 164th!
|
|