Mayor and Council

Photo of Zachary Houck

Mayor Zachary Houck | Current Term: 2020 - 2023

Zach has lived in Haddon Heights since 2017 with his wife Laura and daughters Lilly and Grace. However, Zach's history with Haddon Heights runs much deeper than a few years. Growing up in the neighboring community of Barrington, Zach was the third generation in his family to attend Haddon Heights High School. There he was a scholar and varsity athlete in cross-country and track and recently returned to 3HS as an assistant coach for Garnet's cross country and track teams.

Zach is a graduate of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia with a Bachelor's in Science of Criminal Justice and the University of Pennsylvania: Fels Institute of Government, with a Masters of Public Administration.

Zach currently works as Captain in the Cherry Hill Fire Department, where his day to day responsibilities consist of responding to emergencies, training firefighters, educating the public on fire safety as well as serving the Department in many administrative capacities.  Zach possesses an in-depth knowledge of grant writing and management, which he hopes will serve Haddon Heights well. 

Photo of Chris Morgan

 Council President Christopher Morgan | Current Term: 2022 - 2024

Chris has lived in Haddon Heights since 2007 with his wife and two children.  Chris has a law degree and an M.B.A. from Rutgers University and works as an attorney practicing civil and commercial litigation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  Prior to becoming an attorney, Chris worked for several years at an environmental consulting firm.

Chris has been involved in coaching youth sports in town for the past seven years.   He also serves on the Haddon Heights Historic Preservation Commission.

Photo of Tom Ottoson

Councilmember Tom Ottoson | Current Term: 2023 - 2025

I have called Haddon Heights home for the past 28 years.  My wife, Jeanne Ottoson, and I have raised our three children – Kevin, Zac and Kelsey – in Haddon Heights.  I am also the proud grandfather of three – Nick, Julia and Drew Calzonetti – and father-in-law to Lauren Calzonetti, Alexandra Ottoson and Gabriel Da Silva. Originally from the Washington, D.C. suburbs of northern Virginia, I have been a Camden County resident for over 37 years.

Since 1989 I have been an employer and owner of a small business, Ottoson Adjusting and Consulting Group, Inc., located in Barrington, NJ. I received my BS in Business Administration and Finance from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1979.  I have served as a Haddon Heights Borough Councilman, the President and Trustee of Haddon Glen Swim Club, the President of St. Rose of Lima Parish Council, a member of the Camden County Environmental Commission and several other volunteer positions within Haddon Heights and Camden County. In my free time I enjoy spending days at the beach with my family, cycling, hiking, gardening and being outdoors.

Regina Philipps

Councilmember Regina Philipps | Current Term: 2021 – 2023

Regina Philipps was lucky to move to Haddon Heights on St. Patrick’s Day 2017, where she lives with her husband, Chris, and their son, Shane. Regina has a Bachelor of Science from The College of New Jersey and received her law degree from Rutgers University – Camden. She is a partner at the Haddonfield law firm of Madden & Madden, P.A., practicing civil litigation and concentrating in the areas of employment law and public entity defense.

Regina has a sincere passion for community service and activism. Regina’s son, Shane, lives with a rare, genetic neuromuscular disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). In 2020, Regina advocated for the passage of a bill that ultimately became law, requiring SMA to be added to New Jersey’s newborn screening panel. Regina also is a member of the committee to establish an NJ Rare Disease Advisory Council. For five years, Regina served as a Board Member of the South Jersey Young Professionals Association (SJYPA), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation with a mission to unite young professionals through socially-conscious endeavors to raise money for local charities and to serve the local community.

Although her free time is scarce, Regina enjoys spending time with her family and friends and helping with all aspects of the SMA community.

Kate Russo

Councilmember Kate Russo | Current Term: 2022 – 2024

Kate Russo is a civil engineer who specializes in traffic engineering, having worked on projects that vary in scale from low-cost safety improvements at individual intersections to large interchange alternatives analyses for county and state government. She is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) and a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE) who works in Philadelphia. She graduated from the University of Delaware and received her masters from the University of Virginia, both with degrees in Civil Engineering. 

She helped start the Safe Routes to School group and participated in the creation of the District’s first Travel Plan. She also served on the Haddon Heights Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the Historic Preservation Committee. Kate looks forward to applying her engineering knowledge and love of walkable communities to her role on Borough Council for Haddon Heights.

Matt Pagan

Councilmember Matthew Pagan | Current Term: 2023 – 2025

Kate Harron

Councilmember Kate Harron  | Filling Unexpired Term - 2023

Kate has called Haddon Heights home since 2021, when she moved from Collingswood with her husband, James. Kate holds a Masters in Writing Studies and Bachelors in English, both from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

She works as the Director of Marketing for energy services firm, CMC Energy Services, supporting utility and state-agency commercial, residential, and low-income programs that incentivize customers to reduce energy usage in their businesses and homes. Prior to her work in the energy industry, Kate managed event logistics and production for nearly a decade. Kate enjoys spending time with friends and family, baking, tackling home improvement projects, and making messes with her nieces and nephew

Zachary Houck Mayor 856-547-7164 ext. 37 mayor@haddonhts.com
Christopher Morgan Council President 856-547-7164 ext. 45 cmorgan@haddonhts.com
Tom Ottoson Councilmember 856-547-7164 ext. 42 tottoson@haddonhts.com
Regina Philipps Councilmember 856-547-7164 ext. 43 rphilipps@haddonhts.com
Kate Russo Councilmember 856-547-7164 ext. 46 krusso@haddonhts.com
Matthew Pagan Councilmember 856-547-7164 ext. 44 mpagan@haddonhts.com
Kate Harron Councilmember 856-547-7164 ext. 41 kharron@haddonhts.com