Jahana Hayes represents Connecticut's 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she has served since January 2019. Before entering Congress, she was a high school history teacher who was named National Teacher of the Year in 2016. She serves on the Education and Workforce Committee and the Agriculture Committee, with assignments to several subcommittees including Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, and Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture. Her legislative focus has centered on education policy, workforce development, and agricultural issues affecting her district.

Name

Jahana Hayes

Party

Democratic

State

Connecticut

District

CT-5

Committees

Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee, Education and Workforce Committee, Agriculture Committee

Key Fact 1

Jahana Hayes was elected to represent Connecticut's 5th Congressional District in 2018, becoming the first Black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress.

Key Fact 2

She was named National Teacher of the Year in 2016 while teaching history at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Key Fact 3

Hayes serves on the House Education and Workforce Committee, where she focuses on education policy and workforce development issues.

Key Fact 4

She is a member of the House Agriculture Committee and serves on its Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee and Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee.

Key Fact 5

Her committee assignments include the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee and the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee.

Key Fact 6

Hayes grew up in public housing in Waterbury, Connecticut, and has spoken publicly about her experience as a teenage mother who later earned her education degrees.

Key Fact 7

She won reelection in 2020 and 2022, with her 2022 race being one of the closest House contests nationally that year.

Data from Congress.gov