Mama’s First Act

congresswoman Gwen moore

Throughout her almost 30 years of public service, Congresswoman Gwen Moore has been at the forefront of some of our nation’s most significant legislative achievements and has gained the reputation of a fearless advocate for women and children. 

Born in Racine, Wisconsin in 1951, Congresswoman Gwen Moore was raised as the eighth of nine children in Milwaukee. Congresswoman Moore’s father was a union factory worker and her mother was a public school teacher. After graduating high school, Moore attended Marquette University and earned a B.A. in Political Science as a single, expectant mother on welfare. After finishing Marquette, Congresswoman Moore received the national “VISTA Volunteer of the Decade” award for serving as an exceptional community leader and spearheading the startup of a local credit union.  

Inspired by her love of community activism, Congresswoman Moore successfully ran to represent Milwaukee in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1989-1992 and in the State Senate from 1993-2004. Congresswoman Gwen Moore was elected to represent Wisconsin’s 4th Congressional District in 2004, making her the first African American elected to Congress from the State of Wisconsin.

She is a member of the esteemed House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Social Security system, Medicare, the Foster Care System, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Unemployment Insurance, and all taxation, tariffs, and revenue-raising measures. She serves on the Oversight, Select Revenue Measures, and Worker and Family Support Subcommittees.

The congresswoman is also an active member on the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus, LGBT Equality Caucus, the Great Lakes Caucus, the Helsinki Commission, and the Democratic Women’s Working Group.

Congresswoman Moore has been a consistent leader on issues like health care reform, women’s health, maternal and infant mortality, and domestic violence. She was a leading voice in reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act and has authored critical legislation like the “Domestic Violence Gun Homicide Prevention Act of 2017.”

Congresswoman Moore lives in Milwaukee and is the proud mother of Jessalynne, Ade, and Sowande “Supreme,” a grandmother of three, and a blessed great grandmother to one.