Liana Cassar

Liana M. Cassar is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, representing District 66 since January 1, 2019.

Liana Cassar
Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
from the 66th district
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Personal details
BornConnecticut, US
Political partyDemocrat
Spouse(s)Larson Gunness
Children2
EducationBA, communications and Spanish, University of Connecticut
MPH, Boston University
MBA, Simmons University
Websiteelectliana.org

Early life and education

Cassar was born and raised in Connecticut,[1] and graduated from John Jay High School in Katonah, New York. Following this, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Connecticut and served as a Community Development Worker in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica from 1992 to 1995. She also completed her MPH at Boston University and MBA from Simmons College.[2]

Career

Cassar has worked in various health care and public health sectors in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. She has served as co-chair of the Barrington Democratic Town Committee and as an Advisory Board Member for the Center for Health and Justice Transformation.[2] Earlier, she was a strategy and Operations Consultant to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island and served as a strategic business consultant for AthenaHealth. From 2006 until 2008, Cassar served as the Chief Operating Officer for Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island.[3]

In January 2018, Cassar announced her bid to replace Joy Hearn as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives representing District 66.[1] She defeated John Chung in the primary and Republican Rhonda Holmes in November's general election to win her first election.[4] Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, Cassar announced legislation to lift the ban on abortion coverage for state employee health plans and ensure that abortion care is covered by Medicaid.[5] Following this, she was appointed to the Health, Education and Welfare Committee while continuing to work with the House Committee on Small Business.[6] In October, Cassar announced her bid for Rhode Island House Speaker against Nicholas Mattiello.[7] She eventually dropped her bid in December after the majority of the House voted for Joe Shekarchi.[8]

References
  1. Ahlquist, Steve (January 23, 2018). "Liana Cassar announces bid for Joy Hearn's House District 66 seat". upriseri.com. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  2. "Representative Liana Cassar". rilin.state.ri.us. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. Gregg, Katherine (October 29, 2020). "Freshman Rep. Liana Cassar pitches her candidacy for RI House Speaker". Providence Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  4. "Barrington resident officially sworn in as new lawmaker". eastbayri.com. January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  5. Lewis, Allie (January 30, 2020). "Valverde, Cassar look to expand abortion access". ricentral.com. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  6. "Rep. Cassar appointed to Health, Education and Welfare Committee". reportertoday.com. February 28, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  7. "Rep. Liana Cassar announces bid for Rhode Island House Speaker". turnto10.com. October 29, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  8. Gregg, Katherine (December 31, 2020). "Freshman lawmaker drops long-shot bid for RI House Speaker, slams process". The Providence Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
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