Movita Johnson-Harrell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
April 21, 1966[2]
Movita Johnson-Harrell | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 190th district | |
| In office March 25, 2019 – December 13, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Vanessa Lowery Brown |
| Succeeded by | G. Roni Green[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Movita Johnson-Harrell April 21, 1966[2] |
| Party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal status | on parole |
| Convictions | perjury, tampering with public records, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception and contributions of corporations |
Movita Johnson-Harrell (born April 21, 1966) is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 190th district from March to December 2019.[3][4] She was the first female Muslim member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.[5]
She resigned after pleading guilty to various criminal acts related to a charity she worked for. She was sentenced to 3 months in jail followed by 8.5 months on house arrest, 11 months on parole, and 2 years probation.
Johnson-Harrell was raised in poverty in a family that suffered from generations of substance abuse.[6] She received support from welfare and lived in public housing.[6] She earned an associate's degree in behavioral health in 1999. She also earned a bachelor's degree in applied science in 2002 and a master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.[7]
Career
Johnson-Harrell worked as supervisor of victim services for the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.[2] She is the founder of the CHARLES Foundation (Creating Healthy Alternatives Results in Less Emotional Suffering) which was established in 2011 after the mistaken identity shooting death of her 18-year-old son, Charles André Johnson.[8] The CHARLES foundation is focused on improving the lives of young people, their neighborhoods and "common-sense" gun control legislation to reduce violence.[9]