Meet the candidate
A neighbor first. A candidate second.
Caren Lowrey isn't running because of the Atlas data center alone — she's running because the fight over it showed her, up close, how far decisions about her township can drift from the people who actually live there.
Roots
Lifelong South Whitehall, three generations deep.
- HometownA lifelong resident of South Whitehall Township and a graduate of Parkland High School — the same school the Atlas data center would sit across the street from.
- FamilyRaising three children in the district. Her family has run a local coffee-service business serving Lehigh Valley workplaces since 1988.
- HeritageA third-generation Holocaust survivor and an outspoken advocate against antisemitism, work she carries into schools and community talks across the Lehigh Valley.
What she does
Prevention work, not politics, has been her career.
Drug educator & prevention specialist
Works directly with students, families, and educators across the Lehigh Valley on substance use, mental health, and student safety.
Lehigh County Drug & Alcohol Advisory Board
Serves on the county board shaping local prevention and recovery policy.
Certified recovery specialist
In long-term recovery herself, and dedicated to prevention and recovery resources that "save lives and strengthen families."
Former social worker
Previously worked as a social worker in Philadelphia within the justice system before returning home to the Lehigh Valley.
Nonprofit treatment center
Currently designs prevention and education initiatives for a nationally recognized nonprofit treatment center.
Small business family
Grew up around a family business built on showing up for the same local employers, year after year, since 1988.
Why she's running
Ground-level perspective, aimed at Harrisburg.
Caren decided to run for State Representative because she believes District 132 needs a legislator who is already on the ground doing the work — not learning about affordability, school funding, student safety, or a project like the Atlas data center secondhand. Her priorities: keeping zoning and land-use decisions local, affordability, fiscal accountability, school funding, and student mental health and safety.