Houlahan spent her childhood on various U.S. naval bases across the country, including on Oahu.[2][3] Her father, Andrew C. A. Jampoler, a naval aviator, was born in Lviv, Ukraine in 1942, to a Jewish family; he and his mother, who also survived the Holocaust, emigrated to the United States when he was four years old.[4][5][6] He became a historian and author.[7][8][9]
After leaving active duty, Houlahan went to work for the start-up sportswear company AND1 as chief operating officer. As part of the employee benefits program the company offered 40 paid hours of community service at a location of the employee's choosing. Houlahan dedicated her hours to working with girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).[3] Houlahan became chief operating officer of B-Lab, a non-profit start-up, when AND1 was sold.[5]
Education career
Citing a need to experience the problems in the U.S. educational system first-hand, Houlahan entered the lifelong learning program at University of Pennsylvania where she re-took courses in the hard sciences. She enrolled in the Teach for America program and began working as an 11th-grade science teacher at Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia.[16] She withdrew from the Teach for America program after one year and joined Springboard Collaborative, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit focusing on early childhood literacy in underserved populations nationwide. Houlahan served as both president and CFO/COO of Springboard Collaborative before leaving to focus on her political campaign.[5]
Houlahan has said that one of the experiences that motivated her to run for Congress was her organization of a bus trip to the Women's March in Washington, D.C., on January 21, 2017.[5] When asked why she chose to begin her political career by running for Congress and not a lower office, she said, “I don't have time for that. The stakes are too high, and I think I'm qualified."[17]
Houlahan expected to face two-term Republican incumbent Ryan Costello. However, Costello pulled out of the race after the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania threw out Pennsylvania's congressional map as an unconstitutional partisan Republican gerrymander.[18][19] While Costello was the only incumbent to retain his previous district number, it was made significantly more compact and turned from a moderately red district to a heavily blue one. It lost its heavily Republican western portion around Lebanon, which had only been connected to the rest of the district by way of a tendril through Berks County. Instead, it now took in almost all of Chester County (except for a sliver around Birmingham Township that was drawn into the neighboring 5th district), along with the heavily Democratic southern portion of Berks County, including Reading.[20]
Houlahan took the Democratic nomination unopposed and faced first-time candidate Greg McCauley in the general election.[21] On November 6, 2018, Houlahan easily defeated McCauley, garnering 58.8% of the vote over McCauley's 41.1%.[22] Houlahan was one of seven Pennsylvania women running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018,[23] and one of four Democratic women to win, along with Mary Gay Scanlon, Madeleine Dean and Susan Wild. She joined two other female military veterans in the House freshman class, former naval officers Elaine Luria and Mikie Sherrill.[24]
Upon taking office in January 2019, Houlahan became the first Democrat to represent a Chester County-based district since before the Civil War (1857). The county had historically been very Republican but has trended Democratic (Dem. 42%; Rep. 40%; Ind. 18%) in recent years.[25]
Houlahan had publicly expressed interest in a 2022 campaign for the United States Senate, but on June 8, she announced she would run for reelection to the House.[38] After an uncontested primary,[39] she ran against Republican Guy Ciarrocchi in the general election, winning reelection with over 58% of the vote.[40]
In January 2019, she said she opposed withdrawing US troops from Syria.[42]
During the Russo-Ukrainian War, Houlahan signed a letter advocating for President Biden to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.[43]
During the Israel-Hamas War, Houlahan signed a letter expressing concern over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct of the war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It calls for President Biden to further pressure the Israeli government to adjust their strategy regarding the war.[44]
In 2022, Houlahan was one of 16 Democrats to vote against the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[48][49]
National security
Houlahan believes that critical and emerging technology leadership is a core component of U.S. national security, citing biotechnology as a priority for research and development.[50][51] She has also focused on shoring up critical materials and resources, like transformers,[52] and believes that American small businesses focused on critical and emerging technologies should have streamlined access to federal programs.[53]
Houlahan lives in Devon, Pennsylvania, with her husband Bart, whom she met at Stanford and married in 1991.[59] They put on hold their goal of running a foot race in every state before age 50 when she entered the race for U.S. Representative.[citation needed] The couple has two adult daughters.[16]
^"Buzzin' Business Helps Stanford Cancer Center"(PDF). Stanford Benefactor. Stanford School of Medicine. Fall 2009. p. 6. Started in 2004 by Carly and Molly Houlahan, daughters of Stanford alumni Christina Jampoler Houlahan, '89, and Barton Houlahan, '89
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