John Blake (born August 1, 1960) is an American politician from

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, ...

, United States, who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 22nd District from 2011 to 2021. He is currently the District Director and Senior Economic Development Specialist for Congressman

Matt Cartwright Matthew Alton Cartwright (born May 1, 1961) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative from Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district since 2013. The district, numbered as the 17th district from 2013 through 2019, i ...

Early life and education

Blake received a bachelor's degree from

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Penns ...

while playing on the school's football team. He also received a master's in social work from Marywood College and a master's in business administration from the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took t ...

. He also completed Executive Education in Public Management at Harvard University's

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Career

Blake began working in housing policy as director of the Lackawanna County Redevelopment Authority. Prior to entering electoral politics, he also held a two-year fellowship position under the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, a job as vice president for community development with

PNC Bank The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 states and the District of ...

, and an appointment as the

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philad ...

administration's director of policy for Northeastern Pennsylvania. On February 15, 2021, Blake resigned from the Pennsylvania Senate to take a position leading economic development from Congressman

References

External links

Senator John Blake
official caucus website
Pennsylvania State Senate - John Blake (D)
official PA Senate website
John Blake for Senate
official campaign website 1960 births 21st-century American politicians Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Marywood University alumni Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania University of Scranton alumni Villanova University alumni {{Pennsylvania-PASenate-stub