Madeleine Dean

The youngest of seven children—five brothers and one sister—Madeleine Dean was born to Bob and Mary Dean in Glenside, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Abington Senior High School.[4] She graduated magna cum laude from La Salle University, and earned her J.D. degree at Widener University. She also studied politics and public service at the Fels Institute of Government of the University of Pennsylvania.[5]

After law school, Dean returned to the Philadelphia area and practiced law with the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers, going on to serve as executive director. She then opened a small, three-woman law practice in Glenside, and served as in-house counsel for her husband's growing bicycle business.[6]

While raising three young sons, Dean changed career paths and turned to teaching. She served 10 years as an assistant professor of English at her alma mater, La Salle University, in Philadelphia, where she taught writing and ethics.[6][7]

Dean got her start in politics soon after graduating from high school when at 18 she was elected to an Abington Township committee seat.[8]

She volunteered on her first campaign for Joe Hoeffel's reelection to the state legislature, for the same district seat she later held. It was on that campaign that she met her future husband, PJ Cunnane, himself a 19-year-old elected committee-person.

Having worked and volunteered in the political world for decades, and her children grown, Dean was asked to become a public servant herself, serving as Abington Township commissioner, and ran for state representative in 2012.[9] In the State House, she prioritized social issues such as addiction, equal rights, access to healthcare, ethics, criminal justice reform, and gun violence.

After the shooting at Sandy Hook, Dean and Dan Frankel co-founded the gun violence prevention caucus, PA SAFE Caucus. The caucus is a self-described coalition of legislators and advocates dedicated to curbing the sale of illegal guns.[10]

In 2015, Dean was appointed to the Governor's Commission for Women,[11] a commission designed to advise the governor on policies and legislation that promote equality issues ranging from sexual assault to business initiatives.[11] In 2017, she was elected chair of the Southeast Delegation of the Pennsylvania House Democrats, composed of 22 House Democrats representing nine counties.[12]

She served on several committees, including Appropriations, Judiciary, Policy, Urban Affairs, State Government, and Finance, of which she was vice-chair.[4]

Dean stated in 2014: "We know that the number one issue with voters is education and how we fund our public schools". Regarding the Pennsylvania education budget for 2013, the then-state Representative said: "How we educate our kids tells us how our economy will be." In that same instance, she highlighted the issue of public school funding.[13]

Dean lives in Abington Township (with a Jenkintown address), with her husband P.J. Cunnane. Cunnane is an entrepreneur in the bicycle industry and managed Advanced Sports International. They have three grown sons and three grandchildren. Her son, Pat, was senior writer and deputy director of messaging in the Obama administration.[24]

• List of La Salle University people
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Madeleine Dean.

• Congresswoman Madeleine Dean official U.S. House website
• Madeleine Dean for Congress

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Madeleine Dean (D) state legislature profile
• Appearances on C-SPAN