About Fern
Fern Leard is a NEPA native, a mother of twins, and a longtime healthcare advocate who has spent her life standing up for working families. Raised by a single mom, her grandmother, and foster parents, Fern learned early on that hard work and perseverance matter. Growing up in public housing, rural communities, and the suburbs gave her a firsthand understanding of the challenges many families face and the importance of strong communities that look out for one another.
When Fern found the Back Mountain, she found home. She chose to put down roots in Luzerne County, raise her family here, and invest in the community she believes in.
After graduating high school with honors, Fern went straight into the workforce. She washed dishes, waited tables, tended bar, and worked long hours to support herself. Like many people in NEPA, she understands what it means to juggle responsibilities, work whatever shifts are available, and still feel the pressure of rising costs. Her path was built through hard work, not political connections or insider support.
When her twins were born with a rare disease, Fern found herself navigating a complicated healthcare system and fighting for the care her children needed. That experience opened her eyes to how often families are left to advocate for themselves while insurance companies and large corporations make decisions that directly impact people’s lives.
Instead of accepting that reality, Fern took her fight to Congress. After an insurance company denied an essential part of her sons’ treatment, she became an advocate for the federal Lymphedema Treatment Act and helped pass legislation that expanded access to medically necessary treatment and preventative care. The law helped millions of Americans gain coverage that insurance companies had previously denied.
At the same time, Fern earned her Nurse Aide Certification from Marywood University and spent nearly a decade working in pediatrics and elder care. Working closely with patients and families, she saw how difficult it can be to access affordable healthcare and support while dealing with rising costs in every part of life.
For more than a decade, Fern worked with lawmakers from both parties, built unlikely alliances, and stayed focused on results instead of political games. That experience shaped how Fern approaches leadership today. She believes government should work for everyday people, not just corporations, wealthy donors, or political insiders. She believes communities deserve a voice in decisions that affect them, and that elected officials should be accessible, accountable, and willing to show up.
Today, Fern is focused on rising utility costs, property tax relief, and protecting NEPA communities from exploitative corporations that take from working families while giving little back. Fern has been outspoken against projects like massive data centers that strain local infrastructure, drive up utility costs, and leave communities carrying the burden while powerful companies walk away with the profits, much like the mining companies that left Northeastern Pennsylvania to deal with the consequences for generations. She is also committed to ending pay-to-play politics and making sure government works for the people living here, not wealthy special interests and corporate donors.
Fern also understands personally how hard life can get. She has experienced homelessness and worked her way to homeownership in just five years. That experience shaped her belief that hard work should actually pay off and that people deserve to feel some stability and security after doing everything society asks of them.
Too many families in NEPA are working harder than ever and still falling behind. People are picking up extra shifts, working multiple jobs, delaying retirement, and sacrificing time with their families just to keep up with bills that continue to rise faster than their paychecks. The cost of groceries, utilities, housing, healthcare, and property taxes keeps climbing while everyday people are expected to simply absorb the pressure.
Fern believes working people deserve more than survival mode. They deserve the ability to build a life, own a home, save money, raise a family, and feel like their hard work is creating real opportunity and stability. She believes the economy should work for the people doing the work and that families who work hard every day deserve to actually feel the benefits of that work.
Fern Leard is running because she believes working families deserve representation that puts people ahead of corporate influence and political games. Her campaign is powered by community support, not corporate PAC money, and she is committed to fighting for policies that make life more affordable, communities more stable, and government more responsive to the people it serves.
