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Emilia Sykes
Emilia Strong Sykes (born January 4, 1986) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 13th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly represented the 34th district of the Ohio House of Representatives, which consists of portions of the Akron area. From 2019 until 2021, she also served as minority leader of that chamber.
Sykes was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. She is the daughter of state senator Vernon Sykes and former state representative Barbara Sykes, who successively held the same seat from 1982 to 2014. Between Vernon, Barbara, and Emilia, the Sykes family held the seat for 40 years. Sykes pursued dance and competed in gymnastics during her childhood and made it to the AAU Junior Olympics, where she focused on the vault. She graduated from Firestone High School.
Sykes initially attended Tuskegee University, where she was the runner up Miss Tuskegee University. She then transferred to Kent State University in Ohio, where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She received a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a Master of Public Health from the College of Public Health and Health Professions.
Sykes worked as a law clerk for the chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Georgia. Afterwards, she served as an administrative advisor in the Summit County fiscal office.
In 2013, she ran for the Ohio House of Representatives to succeed her father, Vernon, who was term-limited. She won the Democratic nomination by defeating Summit County councilman Frank Communale. She later defeated Republican nominee Cynthia Blake in the general election by 72%–28% of the vote.
In 2015, Sykes and fellow Democratic lawmaker Greta Johnson introduced legislation to remove the sales tax on feminine hygiene products. In 2017, She co-authored legislation with Republican lawmaker Nathan Manning to expand Ohio law to allow victims of dating violence to obtain civil protection orders and access domestic violence shelters, which was signed into law by Republican Governor John Kasich.
In 2019, Sykes was elected as the leader of the Democratic caucus, becoming the minority leader of the Ohio House. During her first year being leader of the Democratic caucus, the number of bipartisan bills passed in the Ohio House was nearly double the combined total of the previous four years.
During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Sykes endorsed Joe Biden. That same year, she won the EMILY's List 2020 Gabby Giffords Rising Star Award.
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Emilia Sykes
Emilia Strong Sykes (born January 4, 1986) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 13th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly represented the 34th district of the Ohio House of Representatives, which consists of portions of the Akron area. From 2019 until 2021, she also served as minority leader of that chamber.
Sykes was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. She is the daughter of state senator Vernon Sykes and former state representative Barbara Sykes, who successively held the same seat from 1982 to 2014. Between Vernon, Barbara, and Emilia, the Sykes family held the seat for 40 years. Sykes pursued dance and competed in gymnastics during her childhood and made it to the AAU Junior Olympics, where she focused on the vault. She graduated from Firestone High School.
Sykes initially attended Tuskegee University, where she was the runner up Miss Tuskegee University. She then transferred to Kent State University in Ohio, where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She received a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a Master of Public Health from the College of Public Health and Health Professions.
Sykes worked as a law clerk for the chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Georgia. Afterwards, she served as an administrative advisor in the Summit County fiscal office.
In 2013, she ran for the Ohio House of Representatives to succeed her father, Vernon, who was term-limited. She won the Democratic nomination by defeating Summit County councilman Frank Communale. She later defeated Republican nominee Cynthia Blake in the general election by 72%–28% of the vote.
In 2015, Sykes and fellow Democratic lawmaker Greta Johnson introduced legislation to remove the sales tax on feminine hygiene products. In 2017, She co-authored legislation with Republican lawmaker Nathan Manning to expand Ohio law to allow victims of dating violence to obtain civil protection orders and access domestic violence shelters, which was signed into law by Republican Governor John Kasich.
In 2019, Sykes was elected as the leader of the Democratic caucus, becoming the minority leader of the Ohio House. During her first year being leader of the Democratic caucus, the number of bipartisan bills passed in the Ohio House was nearly double the combined total of the previous four years.
During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Sykes endorsed Joe Biden. That same year, she won the EMILY's List 2020 Gabby Giffords Rising Star Award.
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