MEET
MADELEINE
Madeleine is a mother, grandmother, professor, lawyer, and advocate representing Pennsylvania’s 4th Congressional District, Berks and Montgomery Counties.
Born and raised in Glenside, Pennsylvania, to Bob and Mary Dean, Madeleine got her start in politics around the dinner table with her five older brothers and one older sister. She was graduated from Abington High School, and at age 18 first ran for office and was elected to serve as a local committee-person.
Madeleine went on to earn her bachelor’s degree from La Salle University, and her law degree from Delaware Law School of Widener University. She married PJ Cunnane, and together raised three sons. She had the chance to teach for 10 years at La Salle University — teaching writing, rhetoric, and ethics.
In 2012, Madeleine won a special election to serve in the Pennsylvania State House seat that was Governor Josh Shapiro’s, where she served for six and a half years.
In 2018, Madeleine first ran for Congress and was elected as a part of the most diverse freshman class in history. She and three other women — sometimes called the Fab Four — brought female representation back to Pennsylvania.
Madeleine uses her voice in Congress to champion forward-thinking, family-centered policies, such as universal access to affordable healthcare, affordability, gun safety, and ethical government. She grounds her service on her constituents — and on the rule of law, ethics, and the common good.
Real LEADERSHIP
As a leader, Madeleine supported several crucial pieces of legislation — including the American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, CHIPS & Science Act, Honoring our PACT Act, the Safer Communities Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act – a suite of legislation that strengthened American manufacturing, eased inflation and supported our post-covid economic recovery, and that continues to build safer communities, and protect our environment, and expand healthcare for our nation’s veterans. She also supported efforts to cap the cost of life-saving prescription drugs and allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.
In 2025, Madeleine led a bipartisan effort to get the TAKE IT DOWN Act signed into law — a groundbreaking piece of legislation that addresses sexually explicit AI-generated deepfakes.
Serving on the House Appropriations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, Madeleine appreciates the gravity of her committee responsibilities: that our budgets reflect our values, and our global standing and relationships are integral to our own economy and security.
In Congress, Madeleine serves on numerous caucuses. She was elected Chair of the Bipartisan Fentanyl Prevention Caucus, Vice Chair of the Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery Caucus, and is a member of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force — demonstrating her commitment to expanding access to treatment, prevention, and recovery programs for those struggling with substance use disorder and keeping dangerous substances out of our communities. She remains on the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force — reflecting her longstanding efforts to address the gun violence epidemic and make our communities safer. She also serves on the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus, the Progressive Caucus, and the New Democrat Coalition, among others.
Commitment to service
Madeleine has been focused on serving her constituents since her time in the Pennsylvania State House. During her time as a state legislator, Madeleine worked closely with her staff to service tens of thousands of constituents with a variety of casework issues. During her first 12 months in the U.S. Congress, Madeleine closed 1,400 constituent service cases — among the highest number of closed constituent cases for freshman House Democrats at the time.
Madeleine’s commitment to service comes as part of her Catholic faith in the social justice tradition of St. Vincent de Paul.
Community roots
Madeleine is a graduate of La Salle University and Delaware Law School of Widener University. She practiced law in a small Philadelphia firm and with the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, eventually serving as executive director. Madeleine returned to La Salle University, teaching composition, persuasive writing and rhetoric, business writing, legal writing, and ethics for 10 years before serving as Abington Township commissioner, and then in the Pennsylvania State House.
Madeleine and her husband PJ Cunnane live in Lower Merion Township, and have three grown sons – Patrick, Harry and Alex; two daughters-in-law – Stephanie and Juliet; and three granddaughters and one grandson – Aubrey, Ella, Scotland, and Sawyer.