A lifelong resident of Cumberland County, Celeste Riley is a teacher and public servant advocating for the change working families need.

Assemblywoman Celeste Riley took the oath of office to the 213th General Assembly on March 16, 2009, assuming the 3rd Legislative District seat vacated when former Assemblyman Doug Fisher became state Agriculture Secretary. She is the first woman ever to represent the 3rd Legislative District and the first woman representative from Cumberland County.

Assemblywoman Riley serves on the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and the Assembly Regulated Professions Committee, as well as the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee.

Immediately prior to being sworn to her Assembly seat, Riley served three years as a member of Bridgeton’s City Council, rising to become the governing body’s president. She served as the council’s liaison to the Bridgeton Library and Historical commissions and sat on the Main Street Design, Downtown Steering, Central Business District and Multi-Dwelling Complex Security committees. She also is a member of the Building a Better Bridgeton (B3) community pride program and a member of the Cumberland County Cultural Heritage Commission Grant Review Panel.

A graduate of Cumberland Regional High School, Assemblywoman Riley received her Bachelor of Arts degree in music from LaSalle University. She has a master’s degree in Arts Administration from Drexel University. Currently,

Assemblywoman Riley is a teacher at the Morris Goodwin Elementary School in Greenwich Township. Continuing her commitment to children, the first bill Assemblywoman Riley introduced protects children from sexual predators by increasing penalties for possession of child pornography, as well as requiring parole supervision for life for the production and transmission of child pornography.

Assemblywoman Riley is also a strong supporter of land preservation efforts and has sponsored numerous bills that would provide funding for open space, historic preservation, and farmland preservation.

She is married to Richard Dawson and has two daughters from a previous marriage and three stepdaughters.