Jahana Hayes

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes represents the 5th Congressional District of Connecticut. Hayes was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2018, making her the first African American woman and the first African American Democrat ever to represent the state of Connecticut in Congress. She currently sits on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Agriculture, where she is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture. Hayes first garnered widespread recognition while serving as a teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, Connecticut. There she was named Waterbury Teacher of the Year, Connecticut Teacher of the Year, and, later, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year. She is a graduate of Naugatuck Valley Community College, Southern Connecticut State University, the University of Saint Joseph, and the University of Bridgeport, having earned a bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education, a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and a degree in Administrative Leadership.