Lori Shapiro is honored to serve as Pennsylvania’s First Lady. A native Pennsylvanian from Bucks County, she has dedicated her life to family and service.
Lori and Josh met at their school in Montgomery County in the 9th grade. They were high school sweethearts, and they’ve been together since.
After graduating from Colgate University, Lori worked for an information technology consulting firm while pursuing a graduate degree at night. She earned a master’s degree in Science, Technology and Public Policy from The George Washington University.
The first step in her lifetime of service was at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where Lori served during the Clinton Administration. During her time at the White House, she worked on policy that spurred economic innovation and worked to bridge the emerging digital divide. Lori also worked with the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) and served as the liaison between the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) and the White House.
After getting married and welcoming their first child, Lori and Josh returned to Pennsylvania to grow and support their family. As Josh pursued his career in public service, Lori dedicated her life to her family and her community.
As their family grew to include four amazing children – Sophia, Jonah, Max, and Reuben – Lori became a trained parenting educator and used her skills to help new parents in their journey. Despite her family’s busy life, Lori and Josh prioritized service by demonstrating a commitment to the concept Tikkun Olam, which teaches that acts of kindness can repair the world. With their kids in tow, Lori could often be found volunteering in the community and with organizations that worked to address hunger and poverty.
As First Lady, Lori continues to live a life of service and devote herself to family – as she always has. She uses her platform to highlight Pennsylvanians making a meaningful difference in their communities from community based non profits and small businesses to law enforcement and first responder. Lori believes good neighbors can be found everywhere, and that these helpers- as fellow Pennsylvanian Fred Rogers called them, – should be recognized, supported and emulated. As Lori travels across the Commonwealth and meets Pennsylvanians doing incredible work, she is constantly reminded that commitment to others and a strong sense of community is at the core of what makes Pennsylvania special.
Lori currently serves as Honorary Chair of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and sits on the board of the Philadelphia Art Museum.
While at the Governor’s Residence, Lori and her family enjoy spending time exploring Harrisburg and the surrounding area. Lori is an animal lover (the First Family has two dogs – Bo and Bentley), a novice baker, a budding running enthusiast (she completed her first Broad Street 10 mile run in Philadelphia in 2023!) and an emotionally invested Philly sports fan.