Bipartisan panel of First Ladies reflects on service, family & PA

 In the quiet moments before a life-altering announcement in fall 2020, Jill Biden and her husband, Joe, sat by a man-made lake at their Delaware home with cups of coffee. She recalled they were seeking a brief reprieve from a house full of family.

The silence was broken by the sound of their grandchildren running toward them.

“Nana, Pop, you’ve won! You’ve won!” Biden recalled them shouting as the 2020 election results came in.

That memory was one of several reflections shared last week as America250PA hosted a Women’s History Month luncheon at the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg.

The event brought together a bipartisan group of figures that was made up of current Pennsylvania First Lady Lori Shapiro, former Pennsylvania First Ladies Frances Wolf and Michele Ridge, and the former U.S. First and Second Lady Biden.

Moderated by “The West Wing” actress and Pennsylvania native Melissa Fitzgerald, the bipartisan panel focused on the intersection of public service, family, and the evolution of women’s leadership in a commonwealth.

While the women represented different eras of Pennsylvania history, one common thread was the push to bring women leaders to the forefront.

First Lady Lori Shapiro, who grew up in the Newtown area, pointed to Hannah Penn as an inspiration and key figure in the state’s history, which includes the historical figure’s time living at Pennsbury Manor in Falls Township.

Penn managed the Pennsylvania colony for 15 years, a fact Shapiro admitted was not known to her until recently.

“I am embarrassed to say, I really didn’t know very much about Hannah Penn,” Shapiro said. “I came to learn that she led Pennsylvania for 15 years – this wasn’t like a step-in for a minute kind of thing.”

Penn was an inspirational figure also discussed in the past by Wolf, whose husband wanted a portrait on Penn in the Governor’s Residence, and former First Lady Susan Corbett.

Shapiro said that Pennsylvania women have been “driving forces for positive change” since the founding of the commonwealth.

For Jill Biden, a native of Willow Grove, Montgomery County, the transition to the White House’s East Wing came after decades of experience as a Senate spouse and eight years as second lady.

Biden spoke of her sense of patriotism and service dating back to her childhood in the Philadelphia area, citing her father, a World War II veteran, and childhood trips to places like Bowman’s Hill at Washington Crossing Historic Park.

The panel of first ladies shared how personal encounters often dictated their formal initiatives while their husbands were in office.

Shapiro spoke about her focus on menstrual equity, which began after hearing from a mother who kept her three daughters home from school because they could not afford basic supplies.

“I was meeting with these students, and they were talking about their friends and their experiences,” Shapiro said. “Don’t underestimate the power of your voice … sometimes you raise your voice, you’re standing up for something and you don’t see what happens on the backside. But you’ve impacted somebody.”

Wolf addressed the “anxiety” of food insecurity, including the hidden crisis on college campuses.

The former first lady described traveling across the state to find that students had already begun building their own support systems and food pantries to survive.

“Food insecurity doesn’t mean that you’re going hungry forever,” Wolf explained. “It means that you don’t know where your next meal is coming from and when.”

Health equity was a central theme for Biden, who advocated for the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research and encouraged COVID-19 vaccinations.

“Do you know that all the research on health was done on men? And did you know that all the animals that were tested were male animals?” Biden asked, focusing on the need for medical research tailored to women.

The conversation touched on the domestic realities of living in the public eye and having a family.

Michele Ridge, who served as first lady three decades ago, recalled moving into the Governor’s Residence from Erie when her children were only 7 and 8 years old.

She credited her previous career as a public library director with giving her the necessary tools to navigate the role of first lady. She also remembered attending her kids’ sporting events and being part of the Harrisburg community.

Ridge shared that her son, Tommy, who she described as a “legendary prankster,” left an impact on the staff at the official residence.

Years later, the Ridge family’s connection was felt by the Shapiro family when Lori Shapiro’s son discovered a desk in the attic.

“He opens the desk drawer and it says, ‘Tommy Ridge lived here,’” Shapiro said. “For him to be connected to another child who sat in that room or sat at that desk and did their homework, that was really meaningful to him.”

Ridge also spoke on her policy work in the 1990s, which focused on crime prevention.

“In ’93 and ’94, the most likely victim of crime was a child, and the most likely perpetrator of a crime was a child,” Ridge said. “I wanted to be in the prevention business.”

The panelists offered advice to the next generation of women leaders.

Biden’s advice was simple: “Just do it.”

Ridge, who previously led libraries, added that women should not “wait to be invited” to lead and focused on the need of mentorship from women leaders.

The event ended with a surprise visit from 100-year-old Mae Krier, a “Rosie the Riveter” from Bristol Township’s Levittown section.

Krier began building B-17 and B-29 bombers for Boeing at age 17 during World War II.

“Up until 1941, it was a man’s world. It’s not a man’s world anymore,” Krier said, drawing applause. “You know, they didn’t know how capable us American women were. We were outstanding.”

The event, which was organized by America250PA, is part of the state’s semi-quincentennial celebrations.

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