Candidate for House, Pennsylvania , District #15

Contact Information

Bio

Siobhan "Sam" Bennett is a 20-year resident of Allentown, businesswoman and community leader. Currently she is the Statewide Director/CEO of Properties of Merit of PA, Inc., a non-profit organization Sam established to spur citizen involvement and "bottom-up" private and public investment in the critical work of revitalizing communities. In 2006, Governor Rendell provided ongoing seed money to take this highly successful program statewide, and it was recently honored as an official partner of Pennsylvania Downtown Center and PA’s Main Street and Elm Street Programs.

After graduating from SUNY in Oneonta NY, Sam simultaneously launched a successful cookie company and purchased, renovated and managed rental properties in Oneonta. Relocating in 1986 to the Lehigh Valley, Sam moved to corporate business management with Bell Atlantic.

In 1998, concerned about the direction of her city of Allentown, Sam focused on non-profit, civic and political leadership endeavors, driven by the desire to make a difference in her Lehigh Valley home. She created Good Neighbors as a parent- and community-driven advocacy organization for the Allentown School District. Key projects included the William Allen Construction Company (now the pilot program for potential programs statewide through Properties of Merit), and the founding of the Allentown Academy of the Arts non-profit at William Allen High School. In 2002, she led the regional Mayfair Festival of the Arts from a $250,000 deficit to the only black ink in its 20-year history.

In 2001 she nearly defeated long-time state Senator Roy Afflerbach in a race for mayor of Allentown, losing by just 46 votes. She also ran in 2005, and after her primary loss, helped ensure current mayor Ed Pawlowski’s come-from-behind win by running the most effective GOTV effort in county history. Currently Sam is the elected chair of the Allentown Democratic party and vice-chair of the Lehigh County party, in charge of GOTV operations county-wide. In 2004, she was Lehigh Valley Regional Field Director for America Coming Together (ACT) and spearheaded the strongest results of any swing region in the country in that Presidential election while also helping tip the registration percentages in Lehigh County.

Bennett is married to Martin Estrada, a computer professional, and they have a five-year-old son David. She also has two college-age daughters, Emma and Rachael. She and her husband are actively renovating a formerly boarded-up Allentown landmark, the Historic Benner Home, now the site of numerous community events and winner of the Allentown Historic Association Award in 1999. She is a member of the congregation and choir of the First Presbyterian Church and has served as a board member of numerous Lehigh Valley non-profits including HADC, (the oldest housing redevelopment organization in the Lehigh Valley), Great Valley Girl Scout Council and WDIY Community Radio.

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