Born in Philadelphia to two healthcare professionals, Washington is a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls. She earned her B.A. from Antioch University in Philadelphia in 1989. She then moved to Baltimore to attend Johns Hopkins University, where she earned an M.A. in 1992 and a PhD in 1997, both in sociology. In 2012, Washington completed program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a Leadership Fellow. She began her professional career in academia, teaching at Lehigh University from 1995 to 2000 and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Populations Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2001. Subsequently, she worked as the Director of the HousingStat Office at the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, Interim Director for the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance in 2005, Adjunct Faculty Member at the Maryland Institute College of Art and Assistant Director at the Urban Resources Initiative from 2006 to 2008, Associate Director at the Parks & People Foundation, and a Maryland Public Policy Conflict Resolution Fellow at the Center for Dispute Resolution at the University of Maryland School of Law in 2013. In 2010, Washington was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates and made history by becoming the first openly LGBT African-American elected official in Maryland — and only the second such state legislator in the country. Washington is a member of the Maryland Complete Count Committee and the Criminal Justice Information Advisory Board and is a member of the part-time faculty at the Maryland InstituteCollege of Art where she teaches public policy and sociology.
In the legislature
Senator Mary Washington currently serves on the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and has the following current assignments:
Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families
Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Ending Homelessness
Chair, Task Force to Study Crime Classification and Penalties
Prior to being elected to the Maryland Senate, Washington represented the 43rd District in the Maryland House of Delegates. As Delegate, she served on both the House Appropriations Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. She also served as House Chair of the Joint Committee on Homelessness and as a member of the Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, the Regional Revitalization Task Force, the Tax Credit Evaluation Committee, and the Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Task Force. From 2015 to 2016, Washington served as the Deputy Majority Whip.
2006 Run for Maryland House of Delegates – 43rd District
Washington first ran for the House of Delegates in 2006, seeking one of three seats in Baltimore's 43rd district. She was one of six Democrats to run in the district. The field included all three incumbents: Curt Anderson, Ann Marie Doory and Maggie McIntosh. Washington finished fourth in the Democratic primary held on September 12, 2006, behind the three incumbents.
2010 Maryland House of Delegates – 43rd District
Washington mounted a second bid for the House of Delegates in 2010, also in the 43rd district. This time, only two incumbents were seeking re-election: Ann Marie Doory had retired in July 2010 and her appointed successor, Scherod C. Barnes, was not running for a full term. Once again, six Democrats filed for three seats but Washington now had the support of the other incumbents – she joined the slate of Sen. Joan Carter Conway and Dels. Maggie McIntosh and Curt Anderson. All four of the slate's members won the primary, with Washington winning by a comfortable margin. In the general election, the three Democratic nominees faced no opposition in a district that's overwhelmingly Democratic. They were elected unopposed.
2014 Run for Maryland House of Delegates – 43rd District
