Jessica Benham, MA

  • State Representative for Pennsylvania House District 36

Jessica Benham received her MA in Bioethics in 2019 with a thesis, Childhood and Disability: Ethical Considerations.  She holds an MA in Communication from Minnesota State University, Mankato, where her thesis, Proud to be Autistic: Metaphorical Construction and Salience of Cultural and Personal Identity in #StopCombatingMe, presented research on self-advocacy by those with autism through a neurodiversity perspective.  Jess is an advocate for autistic rights of individuals with autism, and is interested in creating sensory friendly spaces in educational settings, increasing access to IEPs for Autistic children in public schools, reducing barriers to employment for adults with autism, and helping parents, teachers and healthcare professionals better understand people with autism.  She is former Director of Development at the Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy and was recognized in 2016 as an Autistic Scholars Fellow by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network.  In November 2020, Jess was elected as State Representative for Pennsylvania House District 36.