Candidate for
State Representative; District 165; Democratic Party

Tom was born and raised in Chester County as the youngest of four. His father, William, is a successful small business owner and his mother, Christina, spent many an hour driving her three boys and one girl all over Chester County for a wide array of sporting events as they were growing up. Tom's sister, Christina, went on to become a lawyer and raise four children. William, Jr. is currently a doctor in the Army after graduating from Yale and spending eight years flying jets in the Navy. Tom's 2nd brother Tim graduated from Franklin and Marshall and now runs a home heating oil company in the Baltimore/DC area.

Early on Tom discovered his first great passion: golf. From the age of 7 Tom was rarely without a club in his hand and went on to reduce his handicap down to a 2 and earn first team all league in high school. To this day Tom would be rendered speechless in the presence of Tiger Woods. After graduating from West Chester's Henderson High School Tom went to Bucknell University where he discovered his 2nd great passion: the stage. Tom appreared in a dozen productions on the Bucknell stage. While at Bucknell Tom also served as the Vice President of his fraternity taking charge of the group's philanthropic activities. Tom organized a 5k run raising $1500 for a local Food Pantry in Lewisburg, Pa.

Graduating from Bucknell with a degree in Political Science and Theater, Tom's first job was with the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. The nation's oldest theater, the Walnut continues to offer one-year training positions to young theater professionals. It was at the Walnut, while working as an actor and teacher for the Walnut's Theater School, Tom discovered the joy of teaching. Teaching classes in acting to 9 and 10 year olds became as much a joy as being on the stage.

After leaving the Walnut, Tom spent time acting in regional theater and living in Los Angeles + leading the life of a starving actor for 2 years. In LA, Tom saw the disparities in our society as especially expressed by the LA riots. In 1995 Tom made the decision that the acting profession was lacking in the kind of social impact he wanted to make. Returning to Pennsylvania, Tom enrolled at West Chester University, studying to be a history teacher. In 1997 Tom began a new career, teaching at Gordon Middle School in the center of Coatesville, teaching a wide variety of history + from the Fall of Rome to the American Revolution and all points in between. The needs of his students hit home one day when the baseball team he coached had to cut practice short when shots were fired not far from their field. It was a graphic illustration of the difficult home lives these students adapted to, where drug money let students make more money than teachers. One of Tom's former students was murdered in 2002. Gordon was a chance to teach and reach students who needed help in a very challenging environment.

In 1998, Tom took a position teaching history at Central Bucks East High School in Doylestown. This was also the year Tom discovered his greatest passion: his family. Tom had the good fortune of marrying Susan Nicodemus in the summer of 1998, having met her while they were both working at the Walnut Street Theater. Today, Susan runs the Theater School there, reaching thousands of area students by bringing theater to life in their classrooms. Susan's work exposes kids to the possibilites of their own imagination and creativity. She has seen theater bring kids alive in a way no textbook can. Susan was recently honored with the 2007 Barrymore Award for excellence in Theater Education.

At Central Bucks Tom's classes included AP US History and Comparative Government as well as US Government. He also helped his students talk about race through leadership of the school's Diversity Club. He had a chance to attend the Everitt Dirksen Center in Illinois for government teachers and the Lincoln Seminar at Gettysburg to study Lincoln's leadership and the power of his words. It was during this time that Tom was confronted with the apathy of young people toward government and politics. Many students expressed frustration with government and Tom became more and more a student of government himself. The more he learned and taught the more convinced he became that one person with the right ideas and perspective could still make a difference. On September 11, 2001 Tom watched what happened in New York on the TV sets in his classroom with a room full of 15 and 16 year old kids. He spent the day trying to explain and make sense of the unthinkable, struck by the fragile nature of our lives and the need to do everything possible to make a lasting impact on those around us.

In 2002 Susan and Tom had a little boy. Nate was born in August of that year and Tom decided to take a family leave to be home for three months... And never looked back. The chance to be with his son outshone even the joy of teaching and in 2004 Susan and Tom were blessed with a little girl named Samantha. While chasing after 2 small children Tom taught part time at Chestnut Hill College and Fairleigh Dickinson University. He still teaches American History part-time at Philadelphia University.

Tom also began another career as a writer when he decided to stay home with his children. He has written five plays for the Walnut Street Theater's Educational Outreach program. The first three were a trilogy on the Civil Rights Movement called "Freedom Riders," "No Easy Road to Freedom" and "Martin and Malcolm: How Long Must We Wait?" Each of these plays has been published; "Freedom Riders" was featured at the National Constitution Center. Tom also wrote "The Boy Who Cried Bully!" on dealing wtih the issues of elementary school bullying, and has just completed "Mean Girlz are Bullies 2!" aimed at a middle school audience, exploring peer pressure and the expectations of and demands on young girls. Next year, the Liberty Museum in Philadelphia will feature Tom's new musical, "Let Freedom Ring!" inspired by the American Revolution.

In 2005 Tom completed his 2nd Masters in Education with a certification to be a school principal. This was the same year the Quinn famliy moved to Springfield. Springfield was and is a wonderful place to raise a family. This same year Tom decided to get involved in local politics, becoming a Democratic Committee Person in Springfield. Tom had the privilege to go door to door for Admiral Joe Sestak in the fall of 2006. Not long after that Susan said, "Why not you?"

From aspiring athlete, to actor, educator, author, husband and father Tom has been very fortunate. Each one of these experiences has led Tom to this moment. He is a dreamer who believes in taking action to realize those dreams. Our schools are the foundations for those dreams and they can be better. Our families need healthcare that is affordable and our communities need people willing to provide leadership to solve problems. It has been a good life so far and Tom is looking to give something back to his community to help make more dreams possible.