Rep. Morgan B. Cephas' Biography
Morgan Cephas was elected to serve her first term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in November 2016. As a lifelong public servant and native of West Philadelphia, Morgan has worked tirelessly to forge cross-sector collaborations and partnerships to solve some of the community’s biggest challenges. Throughout her career, Morgan realized public safety, job security, access to quality education and healthcare were the key components to ensuring that a community can thrive. In the General Assembly, Morgan's priorities include expanding access to healthcare to improve health outcomes, increasing educational opportunities and career pipelines for youth and young adults, creating jobs through business incentives, and ensuring women and girls are a priority.
Since joining the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Morgan has introduced legislation to reverse the trend of maternal mortality and improve healthcare for mothers and children, reduce gun violence, and to bring dignity to incarcerated women. Since her first term, she has successfully secured over $21 million in state funds to improve local schools, parks, businesses, and libraries and to jumpstart community development projects throughout the 192nd. She currently serves as Majority Chairwoman of the Government Oversight Committee, Secretary of the Housing and Community Development Committee, as well as a Majority member of the Appropriations, Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities, and Insurance committees. Cephas was elected by her Philadelphia colleagues as Chairwoman of the Philadelphia House Delegation for the 2023-24 session. She formerly served as Co-Chairwoman of the Women’s Health Caucus where she led the group’s efforts on improving health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum people in Pennsylvania and helped to secure over $25 million for statewide initiatives.
Prior to joining the legislature, Morgan served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to 4th District Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. in Philadelphia after graduating with a degree in political science from the University of Virginia. As Deputy Chief of Staff, Morgan helped ensure families in the district were able to live, work and play in thriving neighborhoods. She secured over $3 million to revitalize area commercial corridors; oversaw $6 million of
improvements to upgrade recreation centers; and assisted in securing funds for improvements to local schools. Morgan also focused on empowering area civic organizations, block captains and seniors by providing city services, resources and over $1 million in Philadelphia Activities Fund grants.
Expanding her experience beyond the walls of City Hall, Morgan joined the team at the Philadelphia Youth Network to focus more on increasing the education and workforce opportunities available to Philadelphia’s most vulnerable youth. During her time with the non-profit, Morgan was successful in helping to secure over $3 million in additional support for the WorkReady summer youth jobs program; nearly $1 million to support the design and implementation of educational and career pathways for youth; and she worked alongside national organizations to shape the development of federal legislation dedicated to workforce development training programs for Philadelphia youth.
Not only has Morgan dedicated her career to serving her district by providing resources, but she has also been consistently involved in various volunteer efforts. Previously, Morgan served as a board member of the African American Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Settlement Music School, Wynnefield Branch and the Village of Champions Youth Inc. Currently, she serves on the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (Pennvest) board of directors, and the Community College of Philadelphia Board of Trustees, and is a member of the President’s Advisory Council at Lankenau Medical Center. Morgan is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta and a member of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Links Incorporated.