Amy Chen

Background

About Amy Chen

Growing up in North Philadelphia and a first-generation child, I have overcome many adversities. This ranged from language barrier to witnessing friends and community member get involved in violence. I lost many of my friends to gun violence and almost lost my mom to gun violence itself. I was only nine years old when violence first affected my life. In 2012, I helped organized a walkout to show that we will not allow the SDP to rip our fundamental rights from our hands without a fight. Two thousand students walked out of school that day, and we shut down City Hall. Since then, it has fueled a fire inside me to fight for what I believe in and to use my story to encourage other to speak up. Since the walkout, I became the Founder of the Student Advisory Board at the School District of Philadelphia, which gave students a voice in the decision-making process. I served on Mayor Nutter’s Youth Safety Taskforce to help strategize plans to reduce violence in the 22nd district. I became the 9th district representative to Councilwoman Tasco and served as the Secretary of the Philadelphia Youth Commission. Since then, I’ve held a National and Regional leadership position in criminal justice reform and gun violence prevention through Generation Progress. My personal aspiration has inspired me to make a difference in my community and to speak up for what’s right. These hardships have become my motivation to push for a platform through campaign work. I want to get more involved in public policy because that is one way that I can enforce change within my community.