Hadley Haas
As a mother, a daughter and a community leader, I show up and ask - how can I help? As a state legislator, I will do the same.
Hadley Haas
If you ask Hadley Haas where she is from, she couldn't be more proud to tell you: Pittsburgh. This community has given her strength in some of her family's toughest times and rallied with her to support others with open arms when they needed the same support. Her life has become, sometimes intentionally and sometimes through the genuine desire to serve, about helping others and paving the way for the next generation to be stronger than ours. Hadley's story is one of resilience and seeing ways to help others in even her toughest moments.
Hadley was born in Pittsburgh, one of 4 children to her parents who were proud Catholics. Both graduates of Bishop Canevin High School, her dad was a stand out wrestler and her mom a cheerleader. Her dad was the first in his family to go to college, and they married after he graduated from Penn State and she from Carlow, a small women's school close by. Her dad worked at Jones & Laughlin Steel Company until 1979, when he had to relocate to Michigan as the steel industry declined. Hadley and her family left Pittsburgh, but they didn't make it a secret where their family was from when they got there.
Hadley eventually went to the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a degree in economics and communications. She began a long career in marketing and communications, but never lost the values her parents taught her - to always realize your privilege, give back to others, and put those in need first. Those values guided her involvement as a mentor and tutor, and as a big sister at Mercy Home in Chicago.
Everything in Hadley's life changed on a family vacation in 1997. About a block from the end of a run with her dad, he suffered from cardiac arrest and passed away on the way to the hospital. He was 50 years old. The experience of losing a parent, and the impact it had on her entire family, has never been lost on her.
A few years later, Hadley met her husband Scott through work. They got married in Pittsburgh, proudly showing off the new PNC stadium and their amazing city to all of their out-of-town friends. Soon after they decided to start their own family, and Declan was born in 2003, followed by Bennett in 2006.
Shortly before Hadley and Scott discovered they were pregnant with Bennett, they took Declan in for hearing tests. He wasn't speaking, and they wanted to figure out why. It was discovered he had moderate to severe hearing loss, which only progressed and was eventually determined to be the result of a recessive genetic trait they both carried. While the chances of either parent passing along the trait was 1 in 4, both Bennett and Declan were impacted.
Declan and Bennett qualified and received cochlear implants (Bennett, at 6.5 months, was the youngest to ever have the procedure!). But Scott and Hadley found out how challenging what used to be simple questions to answer. What would be possible for their boys? What were the best schools for them? They eventually moved back to Pittsburgh to be near family and friends, and enrolled both children in the DePaul School for Hearing and Speech.
Today, Bennett and Declan are a success story. They enrolled in public school, have incredible friends and are thriving. Hadley, however, could not stop thinking about other families that go through this without the access, support and help they had.
"Instead of focusing on the challenge, she found a way to ensure families that come after hers can benefit from what she and Scott went through."
She first got involved with the Children's Hospital Foundation, talking about the need to support other families like theirs. Working with the foundation, she eventually formed the Friends of the Hearing Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, of which Hadley is chair of the board. After 10 years of fundraising, Hadley hired an educational liaison for families like theirs, who has had an incredible impact on the community. Additionally, Hadley has served as a parent representative to the state newborn hearing screening committee, attending regular meetings in Harrisburg with subject matter experts from around the state. She spends one morning a month with local pediatric residents, sharing how they can best support families like Hadley's. And for years, she has volunteered for the Depaul School, helping them raise money and awareness for their mission and work. Instead of focusing on the challenge, she found a way to ensure families that come after hers can benefit from what she and Scott went through.
Hadley never expected to take her advocacy into politics until the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. Watching the horror from home while both of her kids were in school, she decided to do something. In 2020, Hadley became the elections chair for Moms Demand Action locally, and quickly became a co-lead of the Pittsburgh chapter. Through this work she has met with mothers who have lost their sons, families who have lost numerous loved ones through gun violence, and advocated for candidates and policy changes that will keep our kids safe.
In Harrisburg, the same compassion and sense of selflessness that has driven all of her service throughout her life will motivate her work. As a mother, she will look out for our kids and their safety. Most importantly, she will never forget what this community has done for her, and always tell us the truth, do as she says, and vote for what is right.
My Priorities
I watched my dad work in the steel mills and my grandparents, union members, fight for every dollar they earned, every benefit they secured, and every piece of the life they built. I know that none of that is guaranteed. It depends on good schools. It depends on leaders who put working families ahead of billionaire corporations. It depends on safe communities where families can put down roots and thrive. That's why I'm running.
We have Pittsburgh in our bones.
Hadley will fight to:- Raise the minimum wage so a full day's work pays for a full life
- Make housing affordable and put homeownership back in reach for working families
- Expand affordable childcare and early education
- Bring good jobs to Western Pennsylvania so people can build a life here, not leave to find one
- Defend working people and the right to organize — good wages and benefits don't happen by accident
- End taxpayer-funded handouts to billionaire corporations that do little for our communities
- Demand clear rules for data centers that put our communities first — no corporate handouts, no lost farmland, no utility hikes passed on to us, and a real say for the people who live here
My grandfathers were union men who worked hard for their wages, their benefits, and their retirement — and who understood that none of it was guaranteed. My father was the first in his family to go to college, and he went to work in the steel industry, walking the floor of a plant in Aliquippa and believing in profit sharing because he knew the people who do the work deserve a stake in what they build.
When Pittsburgh's steel industry collapsed in 1979, our family had to relocate so my dad could find work. Generations of wealth and opportunity from families like ours were lost as a result. Pittsburgh is coming back, but we face economic uncertainty like we've never seen before.
I'm committed to ensuring that everyone is able to get a good job, that hard work will be rewarded, and that the promise of good benefits and a secure retirement is there for everyone.
When my sons were born deaf, I saw firsthand how broken our health care system was.
Hadley will fight to:- Lower the cost of prescription drugs and out-of-pocket care for Pennsylvania families
- Expand quality health care close to home — including mental and behavioral health
- Protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions
- Defend Medicaid and fight cuts that strip coverage from our most vulnerable neighbors
Navigating insurance, finding the right specialists, and ensuring they got the education they deserved showed me how hard the system is to navigate — even when you have resources, even when you have support.
Good health care shouldn't depend on luck or privilege. It should be there for every family, no matter what challenge you face or where you live.
As the mother of two teenage sons, I've watched the increased violence in our schools change the way we think about what it means to keep our communities safe.
Hadley will fight to:- Pass common sense gun laws — universal background checks and extreme risk protection orders — to keep families safe from dangerous criminals
- Invest in first responders so our police and fire departments have what they need to keep us safe
- Protect kids from online predators and dangerous content
- Fund community violence intervention that tackles crime at its roots
- Expand mental health and crisis services so people get help before things escalate
I've dedicated years of my life to making sure gun violence is no longer the leading cause of death among children in America. I'm running for state representative because I believe safety is a fundamental responsibility of government — from investing in first responders to protecting public health, to enacting common sense laws that keep guns away from dangerous criminals while respecting responsible gun owners, to protecting kids from online predators.
We need to work collaboratively at every level to take care of people.
Pennsylvania's public schools are the foundation of our communities and the promise we make to every child that their future matters.
Hadley will fight to:- Protect public school funding and stop the drain of tax dollars to unaccountable private schools
- Give our schools what they need — modern buildings, supported teachers, and programs that ready every student for the future
- Pay teachers fairly and create the conditions that keep great educators in the classroom
- Invest in early education so every child starts kindergarten ready to learn
- Fight for students with disabilities and special needs to get every service and support they're entitled to
I believe deeply in that promise — and I believe it is under threat. When public dollars meant for our public schools are diverted into unaccountable private schools, every child pays the price.
Our teachers deserve support and fair pay. Our school buildings need investment. And every child deserves access to a quality education regardless of their zip code, their income, or their ability.
My dad taught me what it means to show up for people — not just on the big occasions, but on all the ordinary ones.
Hadley will fight to:- Show up for this district — accessible to every constituent, regardless of party
- Work across the aisle for real solutions on safety, opportunity, and community investment
- Stand up for the values that unite us — hard work, fairness, dignity, and looking out for each other
That's the person I've strived to be as a mom and a community leader, and the type of representative I want to be: someone who is genuinely present in this community, who listens more than she speaks, and who understands that this job is about representing every voice in this district, including those who may not vote for me.
We don't have time for culture wars and wedge issues designed to divide us. We have real problems to solve, and I plan to get to work on the hard, real issues people need solved now.
Pennsylvania House District 44 is comprised of the following municipalities in western Allegheny County:
Proud to be endorsed
Congressman Chris Deluzio
U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 17th District — chrisforpa.com
Hadley has broad support from the community
Tim Merrill
Tim is a life-long Republican, a retired business leader and a former member of the Quaker Valley School Board. He worked with Hadley's father, Dennis, in the 1970's at Jones & Laughlin Steel Mill in Aliquippa, PA. Since 2021, he has worked with Hadley to advocate for public schools and the Quaker Valley community.
Gina Pelusi
Gina is a mother of two young boys, a communications professional, a gun violence survivor and an Everytown Survivor Fellow. She has turned her pain into purpose through her work with Moms Demand Action where she served as the State Legislative Co-lead with Hadley.
Stratton Nash
Stratton is a Sewickley native and proud graduate of Quaker Valley High School. He is a marketing executive who serves on the Quaker Valley School Board and as Vice President of the Sewickley Community Center. Hadley worked on Stratton's 2021 school board campaign.
Joe Mahoney
Joe lives in Moon Township with his wife and sons. He is the Executive Director of the Ellen O'Brien Gaiser Substance Use Disorder Treatment Center. He is a strong advocate for mental health and his family runs a foundation in memory of his brother Chuckie. Hadley's cousin, Joe was raised with the same values of family and community service.
Nancy Merrill
Nancy has been active in the Quaker Valley community for more than five decades. She has worked extensively with groups like the Sewickley Public library and the Sewickley Presbyterian Church. Nancy has known Hadley and her family since the 1970's.
Dr. David Chi
Dr. Chi is a pediatric otolaryngologist in Pittsburgh. He has worked with Hadley for nearly 15 years through an organization they established to support families of children with hearing loss.
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info@hadleyforpa.com
PO Box 285, Sewickley PA 15143