I’m Adriana Leela Bohm, and I’m running to represent Delaware’s First State Senate District.
My life has been shaped by family, community, and a deep belief in justice and opportunity for all.
I was born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1969, the daughter of a Vietnam-era veteran and an immigrant mother. In 1980, my family moved to Wilmington, where I grew up on 21st and Jefferson and attended Warner, Stanton, and Dickinson in the Red Clay School District. My mom worked nights at the GM plant on Boxwood Road and eventually broke barriers by becoming the first woman in North America to serve as lead contract negotiator at a U.S. GM assembly plant. My dad worked as a freelance writer and community organizer. From them, I learned the value of hard work, perseverance, and standing up for what’s right.
At 17, I joined my mom on the assembly line at GM. I wanted to stay at GM and not go to college. When I told my mom she replied that she would kill me if I did not go to school. So off I went, first to UD, and then on to earn my Ph.D. in sociology from Temple University. While there, I helped organize the Temple University Graduate Student Association (TUGSA), the first graduate employee union in Pennsylvania. That experience taught me that organizing isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room—it’s about listening to people, building trust, and working together to make change.
For nearly 25 years, I’ve been a professor of sociology at Delaware County Community College, where I’m proud to serve as a tenured faculty member and member of the National Education Association. My husband Shane and I have been married for more than two decades, and we raised our two children in Wilmington public schools. Today, our son attends the University of Delaware, and our daughter studies at Howard University.
In addition to teaching, I have a long history of service in public education. I was elected twice to the Red Clay School Board, serving for ten years. During my time on the board, I worked to expand wellness centers, strengthen equity policies, increase student voice, and keep schools safe and inclusive. I never missed a meeting and never abstained from a vote. That work also led to appointments on statewide education initiatives, including the Wilmington Education Improvement Committee, the Wilmington Education Advisory Council, and the Wilmington Learning Collaborative. In recognition of this work, I received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for my commitment to volunteer service.
Beyond education, I’ve dedicated myself to broader community service. I serve on the ACLU of Delaware Board as Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer, on the Kentmere Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing, Inc. Board, and on the Delaware Law Related Education Center Board. I am also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
In all my work—in education, labor, community organizing—my focus has been coalition building. As my life has shown, my teaching and my community involvements are born of the same interests: how to overcome society’s divisions (e.g., racial, educational, economic, gender identity, etc.) in order to build the momentum necessary to be heard by the powers that be.
The current situation in Delaware and the nation displays how crucial such coalition building will be in the coming months and years.
An old political era has ended and an unsettling one has arrived. This period requires a reborn Democratic Party fueled by new voices unafraid to think outside the box and develop bold strategies for implementing our commitment to a politics rooted in “We the people”.