Kathy Boockvar

Kathryn "Kathy" Boockvar (born October 23, 1968)[1] is an American lawyer who leads the Pennsylvania Department of State as Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since January 5, 2019. Appointed to the position by Governor Tom Wolf, she previously served as his Senior Adviser to the Governor on Election Modernization beginning in March 2018.[2] In August 2019, she was named co-chair of the Elections Committee of the National Association of Secretaries of State.[3]

Kathy Boockvar
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Assumed office
January 5, 2019
Acting: January 5, 2019 – November 19, 2019
GovernorTom Wolf
Preceded byRobert Torres (acting)
Personal details
Born
Kathryn Boockvar

(1968-10-23) October 23, 1968
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Jordan Yeager
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA)
American University (JD)

Boockvar previously served as Chief Counsel at the Department of Auditor General, on the Board of Commissioners of the Delaware River Port Authority, and as Executive Director of Lifecycle WomanCare, a birth center in suburban Philadelphia.[4] She has worked as a poll worker and voting-rights attorney in Pennsylvania.[5]

Early life and education

Born in Staten Island,[6] Boockvar was raised in the Hewlett Neck neighborhood of Long Island where she attended Hewlett High School.[7] Boockvar earned her Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990 and her Juris Doctor (JD) from the Washington College of Law at American University in 1993.[5] She is a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, and Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington, D.C. courts.[5]

Career

After completing both the New York and Pennsylvania bar exams, Boockvar's began her career at Northern Pennsylvania Legal Services, an organization that provides legal services for people with low incomes and domestic violence survivors.[7] After four years with the organization, she began work as an attorney for Lehigh Valley Legal Services [7] representing low-income clients in cases of unemployment compensation, family law, disability, protection from abuse, bankruptcy, elder law and other issues.[8] In 1997, she was Managing Partner of Boockvar & Yeager along with her husband and litigated cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals and U.S. District Courts as well as Pennsylvania courts[8] related to employment, social security, pensions and insurance.[7]

From 2008 to 2011, Boockvar worked for Advancement Project, a non-profit organization focused on voting rights in Pennsylvania. During her tenure, she worked on voter rights education campaigns across the state.[7] In March 2018, Boockvar was named Senior Adviser to the Governor on Election Modernization in the Pennsylvania Department of State by Governor Tom Wolf.[9] She was appointed Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth on January 5, 2019 and confirmed by the Senate on November 19, 2019.[5] In August 2019, she was named co-chair of the Elections Committee of the National Association of Secretaries of State.[10]

Personal life

Boockvar resides with her husband, Judge Jordan Yeager, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. [11]

Electoral history

Boockvar ran unsuccessfully for the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in 2011, she ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for the 8th congressional district in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, losing to incumbent Michael G. Fitzpatrick.[12]

Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District 2012[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael G. Fitzpatrick (Incumbent) 199,379 56.6
Democratic Kathryn Boockvar 152,859 43.4
Total votes 352,238 100
Republican hold Swing

References
  1. "Pennsylvania Bar Association - Kathy Boockvar Personal Data Questionnaire" (PDF).
  2. "Gov. Wolf reshuffles cabinet ahead of second term | TribLIVE.com". archive.triblive.com.
  3. "Elections and Voting During a Pandemic Webinar". Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  5. "Secretary of the Commonwealth". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  6. "A Q&A WITH KATHRYN BOOCKVAR OF LIFECYCLE WOMANCARE". Lifecycle Woman Cae. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  7. "On a quest for change in government". Long Island Herald. March 15, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  8. "Kathryn Boockvar CV" (PDF). Philly.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  9. "What Should Voting Look Like In The 21st Century?". Penn State University. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  10. "Keynote Speaker Announced, Celebrating 100th Anniversary of Women Having the Vote". BCTV. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  11. "Two Democrats, One Republican Elected For Judge Seats". Levittown Now. November 6, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  12. Gibson, Keegan (January 12, 2012). "It's Official: Boockvar to Challenge Fitzpatrick". PoliticsPA. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  13. "Statistics of Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 2012". Karen Haas, Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. February 28, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
Political offices
Preceded by
Robert Torres
Acting		 Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
2019–present		 Incumbent
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