Katherine Gilmore Richardson is serving her first term as Councilmember At-Large for the City of Philadelphia. Gilmore Richardson is the youngest woman ever elected citywide and the youngest African American woman ever elected to Philadelphia City Council. She is focused on addressing the city’s ongoing recovery from Covid-19, upskilling and reskilling our workforce, supporting local, small, and minority-owned businesses, and addressing climate change and environmental justice.
Councilmember Gilmore Richardson has passed legislation that bolsters transparency and accountability in city government, requires businesses to provide information about workforce development training when they separate an employee, cracks down on nuisance businesses, and integrates climate risk disclosure and sustainable investment decisions into the City’s Pension Fund operations.
Councilmember Gilmore Richardson also created Philadelphia’s first Apprenticeship Guidebook. The Guidebook includes information about application requirements, training programs, career fields, and pay and benefits for over 20 apprenticeship programs in Philadelphia.
Councilmember Gilmore Richardson is also focused on improving Philadelphia’s public schools. As a result of her work, the School District is now providing Tier I conflict resolution, which includes daily programming, to every student in the District. She has also advocated for improving Career and Technical Education curricula to better align with the jobs of the future and create more direct pipelines to family sustaining and supporting jobs.
As the Chair of the Committee on the Environment, Councilmember Gilmore Richardson launched the Citizen Environmental Advisory Committee, which works to co-create policy solutions that address environmental justice and climate change. In 2021, Councilmember Gilmore Richardson was appointed to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC). She is also the Vice Chair of the LGAC’s Environmental Justice Working Group. She is the only representative on the LGAC from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Gilmore Richardson previously served as a staff member for Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown for 11 years in roles ranging from Constituent Services to Chief of Staff. A lifelong Philadelphian, Gilmore Richardson is a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls and West Chester University. She is a member of Ridge Avenue Church of God of Prophecy and a proud life member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. Gilmore Richardson resides in Wynnefield with her husband and three children.