Biography
Mary Gay Scanlon, born on August 30, 1959, in Syracuse, New York, is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District since January 3, 2019. She was first sworn into Congress on November 13, 2018, following a special election for Pennsylvania's 7th District. Throughout her tenure, Representative Scanlon has focused on issues such as voting rights, access to justice, education, economic growth, gun safety, women's rights, and ending hunger. She currently serves on the House Committee on Rules and the House Judiciary Committee, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. Additionally, she chairs the House Caucuses on Access to Legal Aid, Youth Mentoring, and Foster Youth.
Education and Political Experience
-
Education:
- Bachelor of Arts in History from Colgate University
- Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School
-
Political Experience:
- Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 5th District in 2018; re-elected in subsequent terms.
- Served as an elected member of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board from 2007 to 2015, including terms as Vice President and President.
- Appointed Vice Chair of the Tax Commission in 2006.
- Co-Chair of the Voting Rights Task Force of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel in 2017.
Prior to her political career, Representative Scanlon was deeply involved in public interest law. She served as national Pro Bono Counsel at Ballard Spahr LLP, overseeing over 600 lawyers across 15 offices in providing more than 50,000 hours of pro bono legal services annually. Her work addressed critical issues, including voting rights, child advocacy, immigration, public benefits, and criminal justice reform. Earlier, she was a senior staff attorney at the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania, where she led class action lawsuits to enforce the rights of students with disabilities and represented individual students and their parents statewide.
Representative Scanlon resides in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Mark Stewart. They have three adult children: Casey, Daniel, and Matthew.
