This Newark native’s public service career is nothing short of groundbreaking.
Groundbreaking is the word for Shelia Oliver’s career in public service.
The Newark native was a graduate of Weequahic High School and would graduate cum laude from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Sociology. Oliver would eventually add a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Lincoln University and a Master’s Degree in Community Organization, Planning and Administration from Columbia University.
Oliver began her career in public service as Director of the Office of Youth Service and Special Projects in Newark and later became Development Director for the Newark Literacy Campaign.
Her elective political career began as a two-term member of the East Orange Board of Education, and she later served a term on the Essex County Board of Freeholders.
Oliver was elected to the New Jersey State Assembly in 2004, and in 2010 she was elected by her colleagues to Speaker of the General Assembly, the first Black woman to serve in that role.
In 2017, Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy selected Oliver as his running mate. Their win made Oliver the first Black woman to become lieutenant governor of New Jersey and also the first Black woman to win a statewide election in the Garden State.
