Evangeline Heaton

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Revision as of 22:40, 2 April 2007

Evangeline Yvonne Heaton
US Senator
In Office: 3 January 2009 - Present
Constituency	New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland
Preceded by	Vacant
Succeeded by	incumbent
Born	12 November 1973 West Orange, New Jersey; United States
Political Party	Nat'l Equality
Spouse	single
Religion	Agnostic

Evangeline 'Vangi' Heaton (born 12 November, 1973) is a United States Senator for New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. She is the founder, Chair, and Senate Leader for the National Equality Party, a breakaway liberal social-action federal political party. She is considered a feminist scholar as well as an expert in criminal forensic psychology. She has been closely linked to friend and NEP colleague Nadine Monroe.

Early Life

Evangeline Yvonne Mélanie Heaton was born in 1973 in West Orange, New Jersey. Her mother, Yvelle Bordeleau-Heaton, an Algerian immigrant, was working as a seamstress, and her father, Peabo Heaton, was a well-established shoemaker. She was the second of seven children; older than her was Elène, younger were Emmanuelle, Eolana, Edyta, Étienne, and Elexei. Evangeline was raised in a three-room apartment in Paterson, New Jersey where she established herself in the home as among the most rebellious of her siblings. She grew up with political aspirations and dreams of becoming one of the country's first female powerhouses.

Earning high marks in school, Evangeline was accepted to the University of Delaware where she studied from 1991 to 1994, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Women's Studies. She used her feminist background to launch into a writing career which she continues to this day.

To supplement her writing career, Evangeline attended John Jay College in New York City from 1994 to 1996 where she earned her Master's in Forensic Psychology. She immersed herself in criminal studies and became a renowned and reliable, if young, expert witness in court cases involving criminal forensics.

Career History

Deciding she needed a break from the bustle of the New York metropolitan area, Evangeline took a job as a stewardess with Air Inuit, which required a year-long relocation to Iqaluit, Nunavut. During her time with Air Inuit, Vangi met a like-minded young American woman with political dreams: Rhode Islander Nadine Monroe. The two forged a fast and long-lasting friendship in Nunavut that continued when the girls moved back to the United States after their yearlong tenure as stewardesses. Interestingly, it was her time in Nunavut that sparked Evangeline's passion for aiding and protecting America's Native and aboriginal populations.

In mid 1997, Evangeline returned to New Jersey and took a job as a Probation Officer for the Union County court system. She was also elected during this time to the Paterson city council. In 1998, she was offered a promotion of sorts to a Court Liaison, where she would perform mental health assessments and make recommendations to county judges regarding the mental health statuses of those on trial. That same year, she was offered a brand new position at the Union County jail: Chief of Inmate Social Reintegration. Her responsibilities included helping inmates find housing, jobs, education, and preparing to lead productive lives. The program proved a 70% success rate and continues today using the Heaton model of reintegration.

Also during 1998, Evangeline began attending classes part-time at Montclair State University, and in 2001, she earned her LPC degree. That same year she opened her own practice and began work as a private Licensed Personal Counselor.

Political Career

Meanwhile, Evangeline's work on the Paterson city council had piqued her interest in politics. While keeping her LPC practice, Evangeline was elected Paterson Mayor in 2004. During her tenure as Mayor, Evangeline grew weary of local corruption in the Democratic party and founded the Equality Party, later called the National Equality Party. In 2006, she was elected to the US House of Representatives for the 9th district of New Jersey. She briefly considered rejoining the Democratic party, but the Blue Dog Caucus' hold on the party kept her in her third party Party, which she boldly christened the 'National' Equality Party.

In 2008, Evangeline retired from her LPC practice when she received the endorsement from the Democratic party to run for the vacant US Senate seat for NJ, MD, and DE. She ran against Daniel Garrison, a Republican Representative from Maryland, and won the seat with nearly 60% of the vote. She thusly became the first Senator from the National Equality Party to be elected federally.

She is currently seated on the Senate Judiciary and Domestic Affairs Committees.

Published Works

• Happy to be Single (1997)
• How Not to be Single (1998)
• Relationships Are Crap (1999)
• Happy Balance: Working Woman and Working Man (2001)
• The Chang Mansion: A Profile of one of America's Foremost Families (2003)
• And I'm Like Woah, You're Touching My Body: Profiles in Date Rape (2005)
• Fire With Fire For the New Generation foreward by Naomi Wolf (2007)
• In The Air With Nadine: An Inuit Friendship (2008)
• The National Equality Party: a Pamphlet (2008)
• American Aboriginals: What Went Wrong and How to Save a Culture (2009)
• Who Let the Dogs Out? How Blue Dogs are Ruining My Caucus (2010)