About Heather

Click here to see who endorsed Heather in her 2010 campaign

Getting things done in Annapolis

Since 2007, Heather has served Takoma Park and Silver Spring in the Maryland General Assembly. She brings more than fifteen years of experience in policy and politics to the House of Delegates, where she is a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Heather is a dynamic force working in Annapolis to implement progressive solutions to the challenges Maryland faces. In her short time as a state legislator, she spearheaded successful efforts to enroll more uninsured children in health insurance, create a nanobiotechnology grants program, increase renewable energy production, extend health insurance coverage for young adults and amputees, and further expand equal rights for the GLBT community.

In recognition of her leadership, she was tapped to join President Obama’s State Legislators for Health Reform workgroup. Her work has been profiled in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and on National Public Radio.

Leadership for an emerging generation

Heather has dedicated much of her career to finding creative ways to expand quality, affordable health care to all. A nationally recognized health policy expert, she served as Senator John Kerry’s Domestic Policy Director for nearly four years and was the principal architect of his health care reform agenda during the 2004 presidential campaign. She previously worked for three different Democratic Members in the U.S. House of Representatives and spent several years advocating for non-profit community health centers and the low-income, minority, migrant, and homeless people they serve.

After running the Kerry-Edwards campaign in the state, Maryland Democrats elected Heather to be their representative to the Democratic National Committee. In 2009, she was appointed by President Obama and DNC Chairman Governor Kaine as a member of the DNC’s Executive Committee. The Washington Post profiled her in a front-page article about her experience as a national Democratic Party leader in June 2008.

A lifetime of service

Heather learned the importance of conviction and courage during time on the picket lines with her father, a welder and lifelong member of the United Auto Workers. A product of public schools, she was the valedictorian of her high school class and worked as a farm laborer in cornfields each summer to save money for college. She attended the University of Illinois and was a national Truman Scholar.

Heather’s solid grounding in social justice traditions has led her to volunteer work throughout her life. Among other projects, she is most proud of her public health service work in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the four years she tutored at-risk youth in AmeriCorps, and her time as an elected member of the Takoma Park City Council.

Heather lives in Takoma Park with her spouse, Deborah, and their dog, Chester. They own a small business in Silver Spring and attend St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Washington, DC.