Senator Mary Washington is an advocate for Maryland’s 43rd District as a legislator, professor,

ally, public policy leader and trail-blazer.

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Born in Philadelphia, Mary Washington began her professional career teaching at a Catholic

elementary school. Her scholarly interests and dedication to serving at-risk populations and

urban communities brought her to Baltimore where she earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology

from The Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Washington began her academic career as an assistant

professor at Lehigh University, was awarded post-graduate fellow at the Population Studies

Center of the University of Pennsylvania and is currently a member of the part-time faculty at

the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).

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In 2010, Mary made history becoming the first openly LGBT African-American elected official in

Maryland – and only the second such state legislator in the country. As a current Senator and

over her two-terms as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, she has distinguished

herself as a leader fighting for affordable access to water, protecting families at risk of losing

their homes to unfair tax sales and foreclosures, making sure Baltimore city schools receive fair

and equitable funding, and helping unaccompanied homeless youth get the services and

support they need. Senator Washington has passed landmark legislation that bars the

inhumane practice of shackling female prisoners during labor and delivery; sponsored and

passed the nation’s first law protecting social media (Facebook) password privacy; Secured

stronger safeguards from electronic harassment via text or direct messaging; won new

restrictions on price-gouging and abusive treatment of consumers by rent-to-own stores

targeting low-income and minority communities; and passed the state’s first legislation

establishing the community schools model as the statewide strategy for addressing

concentrated poverty. Her work as a Legislator has earned the trust of her colleagues and

constituents on budget and tax issues, as well as, the impact of funding choices on Maryland’s

families.

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Senator Washington’s current and previous appointments include:

• Member of Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, Maryland State

Senate (Currently)

• Member of the House Appropriations Committee, House of Delegates.

• Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, House of Delegates.

• First director of the Baltimore City Housing Department’s CitiStat program.

• Interim Director of Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, a project that collects

and analyzes data important to neighborhoods.

• Associate Director of the Parks & People Foundation, where she advanced urban

sustainability and urban farming projects and helped connect city youth to good, green

jobs.

• President of the Abell Improvement Association, the community association for a

diverse and vibrant North Baltimore neighborhood.

 

In Annapolis, Senator Washington serves as Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Ending

Homelessness, the Joint Committee on Children Youth and Families, and the Task Force to

Study Crime Classification and Penalties. She also sits on the State of Maryland Criminal

Justice Advisory Board. She served as Deputy Majority Whip in 2015-16 and on the

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Task Force in 2013-14. Senator Washington is a member of

Women Legislators of Maryland and the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and an Associate

Member of the Latino Legislative Caucus.

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A devout activist, Senator Washington played a leading role in legislative work to establish

marriage equality, prevent discrimination against transgender Marylanders, eliminate the death

penalty, implement the Maryland DREAM Act, advance environmental justice, and win

additional funding for Baltimore’s public schools.