Jordan Laslett

Workers’ worker: Jordan Laslett

School/College: College of Liberal Arts
Degree/Year: BA, political science, 2019
Hometown: Ridley, Pennsylvania
Current Job Title: Pennsylvania political director
Current Employer: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

While serving as in AmeriCorps VISTA in 2018, Jordan Laslett, CLA ’19, did the unthinkable: He used his final presentation to publicly call out city officials for not paying their interns. Jordan knew he risked harming his career in public service just as it was beginning, but the injustice had him “ready for a good fight” anyway. And he won: The administration of former Mayor Jim Kenney agreed to begin paying interns, and Jordan springboarded into politics.

Jordan Laslett poses in the Pennsylvania State Capitol buliding.

Jordan Laslett poses outside of the Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg.

Taking the lead. Immediately after graduation, Jordan landed a job as legislative assistant with state Rep. Matt Bradford, a Montgomery County Democrat. Early responsibilities included providing crucial constituent services during COVID-19, when Bradford’s Norristown office was one of the few places people could go to get in-person assistance securing services like unemployment benefits. After Democrats won control of the State House in 2022, Bradford was named House majority leader and Jordan his special assistant.

A passion for making things better took shape while Jordan was at Temple, where he served as president of Pennsylvania College Democrats and on two sessions of Temple Student Government. After seven years working mostly behind the scenes in Harrisburg for Bradford, Jordan was ready to take a position with AFSCME this January, where he’ll once again have the freedom to publicly advocate on behalf of workers and unions.

Jordan saw firsthand the benefits that government can provide as a youngster splitting time between his mom’s suburban households and his father’s home in West Philadelphia. “We were always on government assistance,” Jordan says. “That influenced my initial understanding of government’s usefulness to people … And I wanted to be a part of that.”

“Rep. Bradford asked me to be his designee to the Public School Employees Retirement System board. I got there, and it was, ‘Who is this 27-year-old guy sitting on a board full of folks who are old enough to be his parents?’ But as they saw what I’m capable of, the respect grew.”

—Jordan Laslett
Pennsylvania political director