Cheryl Coakley-Rivera

Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera (previously Cheryl A. Rivera) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A Democrat, she has served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 1999. She represents the Tenth Hampden district, centered on her hometown of Springfield. She is currently Chair of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development.^[1]

She is an attorney and earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Western New England College School of Law in 1995. She had previously earned a BA at Northeastern University.^[1] In 1998, following the death of Anthony M. Scibelli, who had held the seat for 40 years, Coakley-Rivera ran successfully for the House of Representatives, becoming the first Hispanic woman elected to the Massachusetts legislature.^[2] She took office the following January and has been re-elected biennially ever since, taking 85% of the vote in 2008.

She was previously known as Cheryl A. Rivera. In March 2006, she changed her name in honor of her mother, Barbara Coakley Rivera, who had died the previous year. Her sister and nephew similarly changed their names.^[3]

A lesbian, she is one of seven openly LGBT members of the Massachusetts General Court, alongside Representatives Carl Sciortino (D–Medford), Kate Hogan (D–Stow), Sarah Peake (D–Provincetown), Liz Malia (D–Jamaica Plain) and Denise Andrews (D–Orange), as well as Senator Stan Rosenberg (D–Amherst).^[4][5]

References

External links

• Legislative homepage