I’m a 5th generation Pennsylvanian — I was born in Bristol, raised in Warminster, and now live in Ivyland with my husband, Todd, and our two daughters, Katie and Nora.
Growing up in a large Irish-Italian, Catholic family right here in Bucks County taught me the value of service and hard work. My parents gave their all to provide for our family. Sometimes, that meant Dad was working two jobs. And after 42 years of work in the title insurance business, Mom recently retired. Through it all, my parents always found time to volunteer in our community, whether through coaching soccer, playing an active role at our church, or serving as a local union representative. “Unto whom much is given, much is required,” they always taught me.
After earning a joint law degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Villanova Law and Drexel University, I took an extended internship at a federal correctional facility in Missouri, interviewing and performing psychological evaluations on some of the most violent and hardened prisoners in our federal system. Instead of pursuing a career at a big corporate law firm or health care company after graduate school, I returned home to Pennsylvania because I wanted to help the community I loved.
I’ve spent the last 10 years working to improve government systems for care delivery as Deputy Director of the Bucks County Department of Housing and Human Services and working with the Philadelphia Veterans Court, connecting our region’s veterans with high-quality services. I’ve served on the board of Alpha Bravo Canine, where I helped connect veterans with combat-related injuries with well-trained service dogs, and since 2017 I have served as the only Democrat on the 7-member elected Ivyland Borough Council. I also currently serve my community on the Nativity of Our Lord’s school advisory board and the YMCA of Bucks County’s Central Bucks Regional Advisory Board.
I’ve learned that I have a knack for fixing what’s broken. I’m running for Congress because Washington is broken, and we can’t change our politics until we change the people we send there. I’m determined to go to Washington to find real solutions for our problems and to fight for our district’s families every day.
Christina Finello for Congress
