Gisele Barreto Fetterman (née Barreto Almeida; born February 27, 1982) is a Brazilian-born American activist, philanthropist and nonprofit executive. She is a founder of the non-profit Freestore 15104 and a co-founder of the non-profits For Good PGH and 412 Food Rescue. She is the wife of United States Senator and former Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania

John Fetterman John Karl Fetterman (born August 15, 1969) is an American politician who is the United States senator-elect from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he has also served as the 34th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania since 2019. Fe ...

. During her husband's tenure as Lieutenant Governor, she served as Second Lady of the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Early life

Fetterman was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. When she was seven years old, Fetterman came to the United States as an undocumented child immigrant with her mother and younger brother, taking up residence in a one-room apartment in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. They left Brazil due to violent crime in their community. In New York, the family lived in poverty, and furnished their apartment with furniture they found on the street. Fetterman said that her family often depended on

food banks A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...

and thrift stores. Her mother, who had a PhD degree from a Brazilian university and had worked as a nutritionist and educator, took jobs cleaning hotels and houses, and was often denied pay due to her status as an undocumented immigrant. Fetterman did not speak English when she arrived in the United States, and enrolled in an

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

program at her school in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. The family later moved to

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Fetterman received her

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

in 2004 and became a citizen of the United States in 2009.

Activism and public life

As First Lady of

Braddock, Pennsylvania Braddock is a borough located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is upstream from the mouth of the Monongahela River. The population was 1,721 as of the 2020 census. The borough is represented by the ...

, Fetterman founded The Braddock Free Store, a non-profit organization that provides local lower-income families with toys, diapers, baby formula, clothing, household items, and furniture. The organization serves close to 1,600 families per month. She started the Braddock Bench Project, focused on adding benches to local bus stops. In 2015, Fetterman co-founded 412 Food Rescue, a non-profit organization focused on eliminating food insecurity and providing nutritional resources to families in need. The organization redistributed 2.5 million pounds of food in its first two years. She launched the Positive Parking Signs Project, a local initiative installing signs around local communities with sayings like "Follow Your Dreams" and "More Hugs Needed". Fetterman founded For Good PGH in 2017, a non-profit that advocates for diversity and inclusion, which brought the Free Store 15104 under its brand in 2019. For Good's largest initiative is The Hollander Project, a business incubator for women entrepreneurs. She has pushed for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

to take "humane and compassionate" approaches to immigration, and petitioned that immigrant families should not be separated. She spoke in favor of the

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive ...

and criticized U.S. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

for attempting to end the program. She also supports the legalization of marijuana in Pennsylvania and is a supporter of LGBTQ rights in the United States. She was named "Best Activist" by the ''

Pittsburgh City Paper The ''Pittsburgh City Paper'' is Pittsburgh's leading alternative weekly newspaper which focuses on local news, opinion, and arts and entertainment. It bought out ''In Pittsburgh Weekly'' in 2001. As of April 2015, ''City Paper'' is the 14th la ...

'' for her community involvement. On June 20, 2018, she served as the emcee for World Refugee Day Pittsburgh. Earlier that month she spoke out about the

killing of Antwon Rose Jr. Antwon Rose II was a 17-year-old African-American who was fatally shot in East Pittsburgh on June 19, 2018, by police officer Michael Rosfeld after being suspected of attempted murder by participating in a drive-by shooting. Rose had an empty h ...

Fetterman told the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

'' that Rose, who volunteered at one of her non-profits, was "just a really lovely, gentle kid" and "really special." Gisele Fetterman at 2019 inaugaration

In 2019 Fetterman and her husband opened the pool at the Lieutenant Governor's Mansion, located on Fort Indiantown Gap, to children who would not normally have access to one. The residence, on property owned by the

Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 pe ...

, is located about from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Fetterman, whose family has chosen not to live at the official residence, runs a program teaching water safety at the pool. She served as the host and honorary chairperson of the 2019 Hispanic Heritage Gala on September 28, 2019. The event, held at the Westin Convention Center Pittsburgh, raised money for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Foundation Educational Fund. On October 29, 2019, she was the first woman recipient of the

Rodef Shalom Congregation Rodef Shalom Congregation is a National Register of Historic Places landmark in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed by architect Henry Hornbostel. Located on Fifth Avenue on the border of the Oakland and Shadyside neighborhoods, it houses Co ...

's Pursuer of Peace Award. In February 2020 Fetterman criticized the company

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

for selling an anti-immigration bumper sticker with the text "Fuck Off, We're Full" written on the shape of the continental United States. The sticker was described on the company's website as an "Anti Immigrant Vinyl Car Bumper Window Sticker". She tweeted at Amazon, asking the company to reconsider the "power and influence" of their platform. Amazon responded on February 3, 2020, stating they would remove the sticker from their website. On March 6, 2020, Fetterman was a speaker at the ''YOUR HOUR, HER POWER'' luncheon at the

Westmoreland Club ::''There is a different Westmoreland Club in Richmond, Virginia'' The Westmoreland Club is a private social club that was established in 1873 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Members are Northeastern Pennsylvania "leaders in the arts, business, educa ...

, held in honor of International Women's Day. She took part in the 2020 Census Tour, speaking at Pennsylvania State University about the importance of filling out the United States Census. In April 2020 Fetterman spoke about the importance of social distancing, and the power of community engagement, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In September 2020 Fetterman helped organize a shopping-spree event for women first responders. Fetterman gave her husband's primary victory speech in May 2022 following his stroke.

Personal life

Gisele was married to Diego Londono from 2002 to about 2005 according to Essex county NJ property records. In 2007, Gisele met

, then the mayor of

, after writing him a letter inquiring about the town's role in the steel industry. They were married the following year. The Fettermans have three children, Karl, Grace, and August, and live with their rescue dog, Levi, in a renovated loft in a former car dealership building, built in 1920, in Braddock. Fetterman adopted Levi from The Foster Farm, who rescued him from a home in West Virginia. Fetterman is close friends with

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...

. She endorsed Senator

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and later endorsed former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election. Fetterman was the subject of an online controversy in February 2020 after a local official commented negatively on her husband posting a picture to social media showing her in a Rio Carnival costume. In August 2020, she spoke publicly about her use of

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

to treat chronic back pain. On October 11, 2020, Fetterman was yelled at by a bystander, who used racial slurs and spoke against her Brazilian background and told Fetterman that she "did not belong here n America.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fetterman, Gisele Barreto Living people 1982 births Activists from Rio de Janeiro (city) American nonprofit executives American cannabis activists American health activists American community activists American social entrepreneurs American women philanthropists American politicians of Brazilian descent Brazilian emigrants to the United States Brazilian women activists Founders of charities Hispanic and Latino American politicians Immigrant rights activists Naturalized citizens of the United States Pennsylvania Democrats Political activists from Pennsylvania Philanthropists from Pennsylvania Spouses of Pennsylvania politicians Undocumented immigrants to the United States Women in Pennsylvania politics Women nonprofit executives 21st-century American women 21st-century women philanthropists 21st-century American philanthropists