Judith Schwank (born 1951) is an American politician. A Democrat, she was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate from the

11th district 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

in a special election on March 15, 2011 to succeed the late

Michael O'Pake Michael A. O'Pake (February 2, 1940 – December 27, 2010) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 11th District from 1973 to 2010. He served as the Democratic Whip in Pennsylvania fr ...

. The district includes the city of Reading and most of eastern Berks County.

Education

Schwank attended the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, where she earned a B.S. and

M.Ed. The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by university, universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: ...

in agricultural education. She continued her studies at Harvard University, where she completed the Executive Leadership Program through the Institute for Conservation Leadership and the Institute for the Management of Life-Long Education.

Career

Schwank then worked as a Berks County horticultural agent with the Penn State Cooperative Extension for 19 years, during which time she established the Master Gardener Program. In 1991, she became the first female director of the Berks County Cooperative Extension Program, a position she held until 1999. From 2000 to 2007, Schwank served two terms as an elected Berks County

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

. She also served as the Commission chair from 2004 to 2007. ""I always thought Berks County was property-tax central," said state Sen. Judy Schwank, a Democrat whose district is in Berks County." In 2004, she was appointed by Governor Ed Rendell as chair of the Pennsylvania State Planning Board. She later served as President and CEO o
10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania
a statewide non-profit organization that promotes responsible land use and development. In January 2010, she was appointed Dean of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at Delaware Valley College.

Pennsylvania Senate

2011 special election

On December 27, 2010, longtime

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

State Senator

died from complications following heart surgery. A special election was announced to fill the remaining two years in O'Pake's four-year term. On January 22, 2011, Schwank was nominated by the Berks County Democratic Committee and subsequently approved by the state committee. Her Republican opponent was

Larry Medaglia Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

, the Berks County register of wills. On March 15, Schwank soundly defeated Medaglia by a margin of 58%-42%. She received 20,124 votes to Medaglia's 14,794.

Committee assignments

* Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Minority Chair * Aging & Youth * Appropriations * Game & Fisheries * Health & Human Services

References

External links

State Senator Judy Schwank
official caucus website
Judy Schwank (D)
official PA Senate website
Judy Schwank for State Senate
official campaign website {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwank, Judy 1951 births County commissioners in Pennsylvania Living people Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences alumni Harvard University alumni 21st-century American politicians