Year Honored: 2018

Birth: 1962 -

Born in: Pennsylvania

Biography

Lisa Blunt Rochester began her career as a problem-solver and an advocate. As a former caseworker, Rep. Rochester helped people during challenging times with their Social Security benefits, disability insurance claims, IRS disputes and housing needs.

She served in the cabinets of two Delaware governors as the first female African American Secretary of Labor, Deputy Secretary of Health and Social Services, and State Personnel Director. As State Personnel Director, Rep. Rochester was commissioned to investigate the Delaware State Police for racial and sexual discrimination. Working with local and national experts in policing and civil rights, the 2001 Blunt-Bradley Report became a roadmap to improve the internal and external relations of the State Police. She also served as the CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League.

She co-authored a book while living in China with her late husband, Charles. Her book, ‘THRIVE: 34 Women, 18 Countries, One Goal,’ profiles women who reinvented themselves while living in a foreign country.

Rep. Rochester once again made history in 2016 when she was elected to Congress. She was the first woman and the first person of color to represent Delaware in Congress. She served on the House Committee on Education and Workforce as well as the House Committee on Agriculture, and currently serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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Sources and Additional Readings

About Lisa. Lisa Blunt Democrat for Congress. (2021, July 14). Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://lisabluntrochester.com/about.

Delaware Ephemera Collection Related to Politics, Policy, and Government . Manuscript and Archival Collection Finding Aids . (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://library.udel.edu/special/findaids/view?docId=ead%2Fmss0733.xml%3Bquery.

Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware (DE)), 117th Congress profile. Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://clerk.house.gov/members/B001303.

United States congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester proudly serving Delaware. United States Congress. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2021, from https://bluntrochester.house.gov/.