Schwank earned her B.S. and M.Ed. in Agricultural Education from Pennsylvania State University. Her professional experience includes the following positions: Schwank is a former Berks County Commissioner and the former director of the Berks County Cooperative Extension Program and President of 10,000 Friends, promoting sustainability and agriculture. Schwank also serves as a member of the Girl Scouts of Southeast PA Board of Directors and as chair the Pennsylvania State Planning Board. She is the dean of agricultural and environmental sciences at Delaware Valley College. In June 2011, Governing Magazine named Schwank one of 12 "Democratic Legislators to Watch." Each of the legislators was selected on the basis of qualities such as leadership, ambition, and political potential.
