Christine Houlahan of Pennsylvania: Educator, veteran, politician. Photo credit US Congress.
The Teach For America program has produced some very fine educators. One of these is Christine Houlahan, a high school science teacher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She also serves as a representative in the US Congress.
Christine was born on June 5, 1967, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Her father was born to a Jewish family in Poland, and at age four, he emigrated to avoid the Holocaust. After serving as a naval aviator, he became a historian and author.
As a young woman, Christine completed the requirements for her Bachelor’s degree in Engineering at Stanford University in California in 1989. She earned her Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Christine also served three years in the United States Air Force and 13 years in the Air Force Reserve. She retired from the military in 2004 after earning the rank of captain.
After completing her military career, Christine accepted a job in the private sector. While there, she completed 40 hours of paid community service working with young girls in a local Science, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) program. Later she enrolled in the Teach for American program. Through this program, she taught eleventh grade chemistry and other science courses at Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia.
After she left the Teach for America program, Christine joined Springboard Collaborative, a Philadelphia-based non-profit focusing on early childhood literacy in underserved populations nationwide. She served as both President and CFO/COO of that organization before leaving to focus on her political campaign.
In 2018, Christine was elected to the Democratic ticket to serve as a representative in the US Congress from Pennsylvania’s 6th District. During the one term that she served, her platform included an emphasis on health care, campaign finance reform, and the creation of more jobs. She also stressed the importance of education, veterans’ affairs, and family issues. While in Congress, she was part of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Small Business Committee, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Christine Houlahan: Veteran, politician, and Chalkboard Champion
