Stephanie Stahl Hamilton is an Arizonan having spent her early childhood years on Navajo Tribal Lands. She’s married to Derek Hamilton, a middle school teacher in TUSD. Twenty-three years of marriage has blessed them with three children and two dogs.
After completing her Masters of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary, Stephanie and Derek made Tucson their home. She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA and is currently serving as Parish Associate at St. Mark’s. Stephanie’s faith and love for her community drove her extensive involvement from coaching cross country to coordinating the after school garden program, to working in the schools as a substitute teacher, even serving on the Site Council and PTO. The more she was involved in the Tucson community and public schools the more she saw that a lack of investment in public education adversely affects all Arizonans
Stephanie worked tirelessly to collect signatures in order to refer SB1431 to the ballot as Proposition 305 to reverse the voucher expansion law passed in 2017. She served as the Regional Lead for Save Our Schools in 2018 to stop expansion and the lack of regulation in the voucher expansion system.
Stephanie served on TUSD’s Family Life Curriculum Committee, dedicating hundreds of hours reviewing and revising the curriculum. Facing strong opposition, she has proven her commitment to the children in our community, by completing an inclusive, updated, and relevant curriculum that addresses the well-being of the children in the district.
Stephanie’s role as the Executive Director of Montlure’s Presbyterian Church Camp enabled her to meet and serve children from all over Arizona. It was their faces, stories, and connection to their communities which lent a more comprehensive perspective of the critical role played by policies put into place by the State Legislature.
Stephanie was elected to the State House of Representatives in 2020 and serves on the Government & Elections committee as well as the Natural Resources, Energy, & Water committee.
On October 19, Stephanie was appointed by the Pima County Board of Supervisors to replace District 10 Senator Kristen Engel who resigned to run for Congress. Nine days later, Stephanie was sworn in as a Senator.
As a result of redistricting, Stephanie is running again for the Arizona House of Representatives instead of the State Senate.