Lizzie Shacklett

Lizzie is the Founder and CEO of Literacy Is Lit, a nonprofit through which she has distributed over 36,000 books worth $180,000 to underserved children and Title 1 schools across the Mid-Atlantic region. She is the author of a children’s book, I Read Before Bed, which she has shared in schools, libraries, and community centers throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as part of her “Learning With Lizzie” program which aims to inspire a love of reading and learning in the next generations. Through Literacy Is Lit, Lizzie strives to increase literacy rates, fill educational gaps, and work towards a future where all children are empowered with the skills and the confidence they need to succeed. Having served as Miss Pennsylvania’s Teen in 2023, Lizzie traveled across the state and participated in over a hundred service engagements to further her cause. At her high school, Lizzie is the Vice President of Service Council, a Deputy Editor of the school newspaper, a Student Ambassador Leadership Team Head Tour Guide, the Vice President of the Model UN Club, an appointee to Honor Council, and a member of the a cappella group, the Bel Cantos. This past summer, Lizzie interned for State Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti as a Communications Intern and also taught a public speaking workshop to middle and high school students at a summer camp in Changsha, China. Having attended elementary school in Singapore, Lizzie wants to pursue Political Science and Chinese. Her passion is serving others, and she plans on making it her lifelong purpose through a career in policy, diplomacy, or law.