Biography

Representative Patricia Dillon is Deputy Majority Leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives and serves on the Appropriations, Environment and Judiciary committees.

As a state legislator, Pat has worked relentlessly on legislation around health and quality of life. She has shaped much of Connecticut's policies related to AIDS, family violence, injury prevention, and addiction and mental health. She has also been a consistent advocate for school-based health centers and the disabled. Her work in setting up the first WIC produce nutrition program earned her honors and she takes pride in supporting the arts and humanities through legislation for upgrading and operating New Haven arts organizations, performances, and local historic preservation. Additionally, she established an initiative for the behavioral health needs of returning National Guard and Reserve members and continues working on an ongoing project to help homeowners whose homes are damaged due to water infiltration or subsidence and researching emerging flooding issues on New Haven's west side.

Before coming to the General Assembly, Pat graduated from Marymount College, Ohio State University, and Yale School of Epidemiology and Public Health, where she published her thesis on AIDS. She then served on New Haven's Board of Aldermen and was a co-founder and director of New Haven's battered women’s shelter. She currently lives in New Haven with her husband Dr. Jack Hughes.