11 Facts About Shelley Vana

Rochelle "Shelley" Vana was born on December 30,1951 and is a Democratic politician who currently serves as a Palm Beach County Commissioner, representing the 3rd District from 2008 to the present.

Shelley Vana was born in Rochester, Pennsylvania, and attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, graduating with her bachelor's degree in psychology in 1973.

Shelley Vana moved to the state of Florida and began working as an educator, teaching at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts and Jupiter Community High School.

Shelley Vana then worked as a science resource coordinator for the School District of Palm Beach County, and served as the President and the Chief Executive Officer of the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association.

In 2002, incumbent State Representative Lois Frankel was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, so Shelley Vana ran to succeed her in the 85th District, which included Lake Worth, Palm Springs, Royal Palm Beach, and Wellington in central Palm Beach County.

Shelley Vana campaigned on her support for public education, advocating for a reduction in class sizes, increased recruitment of new teachers, and the abolition of a law that allows for school districts to fire teachers without explanation after less than a hundred days of their employment.

In 2006, running for what would be her final term in the legislature, Shelley Vana was challenged in the Democratic primary by Jeff Murphy.

Shelley Vana was endorsed by the Sun-Sentinel, which argued that she was "much better informed and more qualified to represent the district than her opponent" and that her "ability to work with her Republican colleagues to get things done" warranted renomination.

In 2008, rather than seek re-election to the State House, Shelley Vana instead opted to run for the Palm Beach County Commission in the 3rd District, challenging incumbent Republican Commissioner Bob Kanjian, who was appointed by then-Governor Charlie Crist to the seat when the previous commissioner resigned after being sentenced on corruption charges.

In 2010, Shelley Vana declined to endorse the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate, Congressman Kendrick Meek, instead announcing that she would be supporting Governor Charlie Crist, running as an independent candidate, because Crist had the better chance of winning as was a "middle of the road" candidate.

Shelley Vana is married to Rosti F Vana, with whom she has two children, Jason and Jessica.