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Member Since- 2019
Jennifer Pawlik is the first woman and the first Democrat elected to the House of Representatives in District 17 (Chandler, Sun Lakes and Gilbert). She is a native Arizonan and the eldest of three daughters born to Bob Banning and Jo Beckelman. She attended Arizona schools from kindergarten through college and graduated near the top of her class at Dobson High School in 1990. She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education in 1996. In 2010, Jennifer completed a graduate program through a collaborative cohort between Northern Arizona University and Chandler Unified School District. She earned a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
Jennifer is certified to teach general education students in kindergarten through grade eight, but she also enjoys working with adults. She has taught for seventeen years, the last nine of which have been in the Chandler Unified School District. In addition to the work Jennifer does in the classroom, she is a passionate advocate for education in her community. In 2017, she served as Co-Chair of the successful Yes for Chandler Students! override committee. In the fall of 2015, she served as a speaker for Chandler Unified School District's successful Back the Bond initiative and organized a neighborhood canvass to speak to voters about the importance of properly funding schools. As a member of the Chandler Education Association's Super Q team, Jennifer represented elementary school teachers in the bargaining process for contracts and benefits. She now uses her knowledge of Arizona schools, love for students and experiences as a teacher to help improve and change legislation as a member on the Education Committee.
In addition to education, Jennifer has been an active leader in her community. She served as Secretary of the Legislative District 17 Democrats, she is a former Precinct Committeeman in the Emmett precinct and elected State Committee member. After becoming involved in local campaigns in 2014, Jennifer was encouraged to apply to Emerge Arizona, a six-month program that trains Democratic women to hold public office. She was a 2015 graduate of the program. Jennifer participated in the Leading for Change program in the spring of 2016. During the spring of 2018, Jennifer was honored to be named as a Flinn-Brown Fellow.
When not engaged in education and community activities, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband of twenty-three years, Jason Pawlik, and her college-aged twin daughters. The family has lived in Chandler for eleven years. |