About Me
I am running for office because we deserve a leader who listens first, builds bridges, and focuses on real solutions for our community rather than partisan agendas. My motto is “Working for the People, Not the Parties.” because our community is my number one priority. The best path forward must rely on common sense, cooperation, and practical leadership. We will accomplish this understanding of the challenges that follow us, practicing balanced moderation, and winning the battles crucial for our community to thrive. As a fiscal moderate, I object to the overreach of the government into our homes, our doctors' offices, our families, and our lives. We should be allowed to live our lives as we decide.
Understanding our Area
I understand the needs of our area. I have lived in Schnecksville with my wonderful family for nearly twenty years. My children went to Parkland High School. My husband, Russ, is from Slatington, with multiple generations preceding him. His parents, Tex and Barb Todd, owned Remaley's Fuel, H.L. Todd and Sons Excavating, and the Highlander Laundromat in Slatington. We are pet parents (and now pet grandparents) to our dogs, Whiskey, Jinjin and Brunson.
I grew up in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. A small coal town in central Pennsylvania, I grew up playing in the cornfields behind my house until dark. We had cows, farms, and Mennonite buggies. When I needed money, I started working. I got my first job at age 12: I licked stamps and addressed envelopes for admins at the college across the street. I saw both the beauty and the challenges that small towns face on a daily basis.
I moved to Allentown for high school and I attended Allen High School. As the Student Representative to Allentown School Board, I started learning about the challenges faced in education. The Lehigh Valley became my home.
After graduating, I went to Brandeis University for my Bachelor's Degree, the University of Limerick for my Master's Degree, and Hofstra University for law school. During law school, I worked in Harrisburg for the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Corrections. My work included creating regulations limiting the amount insurance companies could give doctors in “bonuses,” arguing some of the John DuPont murder trial, and fighting contract disputes over the inmate riots in the SCI Camp Hill prison. I also worked as a legal intern at the Harvard School of Public Health addressing the legal challenges relating to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. After I graduated from law school, my first legal job was in the World Trade Center as a civil rights and business lawyer.
Surviving 9/11
My experience as a 9/11 survivor has reshaped my adult life since the destruction of my office on the 52nd floor of Tower 1. Since 2001, I have sought to turn my experience into a positive message. Aside from the horror, it was a time we bonded together for the common good, strangers went out of their way to help each other, and we saw the bravery of our heroes, even when it ended in personal tragedy. With a massive 9/11 collection of memorabilia and documents, I provide free shows to remind us and to educate our next generation; I also use these events to support first responders. For more information on my collection, programs and mission statement, click here.
At the time, I was managing discrimination cases for hundreds of insurance agents, cases which eventually resulted in more than ten million dollars for my clients. The week before, I had scheduled all-day meetings with ninety of my clients for Tuesday, the 11th. I was also engaged to be married, planning to be married on the 15th. Last minute, I cancelled all my meetings for the 11th, and our office was empty on 9/11.
I was scheduled to get married on the 15th and considered cancelling. Faced with the ongoing trauma, however, we decided to move forward; we all needed a life-affirming event. I also was able to donate everything I could from my wedding to the 9/11 effort: the leftover food, the flowers, and money were given to our first responders, random victims and survivors, and the Red Cross. My admiration for the bravery and dedication of our first responders grew into a permanent commitment for the future to repay their efforts. I continued to work in the City on my cases, ignoring the piles of body parts and yellow ash around my office building, swallowing the fear of another attack, and attending funeral after funeral. Then my life was destined to pivot again: I learned I was pregnant. While I was willing to subject myself to the hell of post-9/11 New York City, I was not willing to expose my child to it. I decided I needed to leave the City and come home — my home, the Lehigh Valley.
I moved home with no job, a single parent, and no prospects of employment until I could take my exam and get licensed as a lawyer in Pennsylvania. I had no money, no home of my own, and zero resources; I had to start my life over again.
Coming Home
With determination and hard work, I reinvented my life. I practiced business, healthcare, civil rights and education law with firms in Bethlehem and Center Valley. In 2012, I opened my own law firm with my mother, Frayda Kamber, Esq. I was able to assist hundreds of individuals and small businesses find justice and fight greed and abuse of process. I negotiated contracts, mediated disputes, did investigations, worked with dozens of government agencies, and served as trial attorney. For my work, I received numerous awards, including those for client satisfaction, trial work and superlative legal work. I was finally able to do pro bono work for our first responders to assist them with obtaining benefits from the World Trade VCF assistance fund.
With one of the largest private collections of WTC items, I also offer public, child-appropriate shows on WTC history and to raise money at the shows for charities that assist our first responders.
I became an adjunct professor and educator, including with Cedar College, Moravian College, DeSales University and numerous online webinar services. I also became a keynote speaker at numerous national, international and local conferences. I have been published as an expert in numerous publications, including Harrisburg's Penn Capital Star, NPR, Bloomberg, and the Morning Call.
Forensic Document Examination
During COVID, I decided to return to school and become a forensic document examiner. I started my business SESHET Forensic Document Examinations.
My job is examining documents for fraud. As a fraud investigator, I handle criminal and civil cases, including faked signatures, cut-and-pasted notary stamps, falsified DocuSign® papers, anonymous writings and ransom notes. I also started researching and writing a book on the unsolved murder of Charles Lindbergh's infant son.
In February this year, I was tapped by the Democrats to run for State Representative for District 183. Obviously I am not a career politician and I have never sought power for its own sake. I am running because I believe that practical, principled leadership — grounded in legal expertise and real-world experience — is exactly what this district needs right now. I want to bring an honest voice and a working professional's perspective to Harrisburg. I am ready to fight for the people of District 183 — and I am asking for your support.
