SmartHER News Interviews Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro

Writing from a hotel desk in Philadelphia, an exclusive reflection of a historic day for SmartHER News.

Dear Friends,

It came about very quickly, and somewhat unexpectedly.

One random weekday, I found myself crafting a note to a generic email address attached to the press office for the governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In the note, I shared the mission of SmartHER News and the reason why I wanted to interview the top elected official in a state that remains central to the American story, from the past to the present.

I explained that we wanted our reporting to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence AND to also look toward the future. If we could choose our "Founding Fathers" for the next 250 years, who would we choose? How would we want them to lead?

It felt natural to return to Pennsylvania for the first of a series of interviews that could tether the past to the future.

Governor Josh Shapiro often earns a spot in the conversation about future political leadership as a high-profile Democrat once considered for vice president in 2024, and as a whispered potential presidential hopeful in 2028. What if we could speak to Gov. Shapiro about the big topics that matter? Family. Leadership. The future.

Thursday, the governor and I sat down for 30 minutes together and tackled just that.