Christa Caceres has been a community advocate in Pike County for about 20 years, and is now serving residents as county commissioner.
She worked as a senior constituent advocate for Congressman Matt Cartwright (PA-8) at his office in Tannersville for about five years before resigning to run for commissioner. She has a B.A. in Jurisprudence and a M.S. in Law and Public Policy from the California University of Pennsylvania.
Caceres is the first woman elected to Pike County’s Board of Commissioners in 30 years, and the first ever person of color.
“When I ran for this, it wasn't because of those things. Even though that was amazing. I ran for this seat because I looked at what was happening as a resident,” she said. “I've been here 18 years… I think as a mom, as a wife, I just looked at certain things and I thought, my goodness, we don't have a bus system.”
Expanding transportation is one of her priorities.
“It would involve a feasibility study, a newer one, and then working with PennDOT to present that study, and then hopefully be approved for a three year pilot program,” she said. “I have been given the green light by the other two commissioners to begin that research, which is important. They've pledged to work with me. We work very well together thus far. I anticipate that will continue.”
Caceres says her advocacy work began in the 90s.
“My then boyfriend, now husband, had an issue separating from a girlfriend with visitation with his kids,” she said. “I thought, Well, you're a great dad. Like, why? How could you possibly have an issue seeing your children?”
Caceres joined nonprofits and helped hundreds of fathers learn their rights in family court. Since then, she’s worked to encourage people to educate themselves and vote.
“It's so important for you to have a voice, and it's so important for you to make sure that you're putting the right people in those seats. And by right, I don't mean necessarily, that are just going to do what you want,” she said. “They're not following what their party wants to do. They're not coming in with their own agenda… They're coming in to really do what's best for the people. And that's rare, unfortunately.”
Her service to the local community extends far beyond a day job. She is the Pike County Democratic Committeewoman, Lehman Township Democratic Committeewoman, and serves on the board for organizations including the Pocono Mountains United Way, the Pocono Mountain Chamber, and more.
Caceres serves as president of the Monroe County NAACP, and says she will serve the remainder of her term until December 2024. She is also Vice President and Political Action Chair for the Pennsylvania NAACP, and will remain so until 2025.
“It's a labor of love. Like, I really, really enjoy making a difference, a small one,” she said. “If we all just devoted, let's say, five hours a week, this world would be incredible. If we all said, I'm going to really look closely at my elected officials… man, would this world be a better place.”
Governor Shapiro appointed her as chair of the state Citizen Law Enforcement Advisory and Review Commission (CLEAR) in 2023. The newly-formed group aims to strengthen accountability by reviewing internal investigations completed by state law enforcement agencies.
“I don't have a negative view of law enforcement. Surely there are lots of things nationwide that need to be looked at, reviewed and changed. But defunding is not one of them. I'll just make that clear,” she said. “Where there's toxicity, I believe in removal.”
One week into the job, Commissioner Caceres says she is saying less and listening more.
“You can't be responsive if you're not listening. And so I want to go to every township and every borough, I want to go to some of the township supervisor meetings and make myself available,” she said. “I really want to listen to my neighbors, especially the ones who didn't vote for me, or didn't necessarily support me.”
