20 Facts About Vanessa Atterbeary

Vanessa Elaine Atterbeary was born on June 24,1975 and is an American attorney and politician from the Democratic Party who represents District 13 in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Vanessa Atterbeary attended Clemens Crossing Elementary School, Clarksville Middle School, and graduated from Atholton High School.

Vanessa Atterbeary attended the College of William and Mary, where she earned a bachelor's degree in government in 1997, and the Villanova University School of Law, where she earned a Juris Doctor three years later.

Vanessa Atterbeary is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Vanessa Atterbeary was admitted to Maryland State Bar Association in 2001 and the District of Columbia Bar in 2002.

Vanessa Atterbeary first ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in 2010, for the District 18 delegate seat.

Vanessa Atterbeary came in fifth place in a field of six candidates, receiving 13 percent of the vote in the primary election.

Vanessa Atterbeary filed to run in the district on February 25,2014, and ran on a "Team 13" slate with incumbent Delegates Guy Guzzone, Shane Pendergrass, and Turner.

Vanessa Atterbeary won the Democratic primary with 27.3 percent of the vote.

Vanessa Atterbeary was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 14,2015.

In October 2023, after US Representative John Sarbanes announced that he would not run for reelection in 2024, Vanessa Atterbeary said that she was planning to run to succeed him in Congress.

Vanessa Atterbeary introduced legislation in the 2016 legislative session that would put five of the seven members of the Howard County school board up for election.

Vanessa Atterbeary introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would remove school resource officers from school buildings.

Vanessa Atterbeary introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would allow the Howard County Council to raise fees against developers to cover the costs of school construction.

In 2020, Vanessa Atterbeary introduced legislation that would prevent the Howard County school board from enrolling students at schools with capacities greater than 115 percent.

Vanessa Atterbeary introduced legislation in the 2020 legislative session that would require background checks for private sales of long guns.

In May 2020, Vanessa Atterbeary was appointed to chair the Work Group to Address Police Reform and Accountability in Maryland, where she helped craft the Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021.

Vanessa Atterbeary opposed a proposed provision that would give jurisdictions the ability to allow independent police oversight boards to make disciplinary decisions.

In December 2021, Vanessa Atterbeary said that agencies that did not comply with Anton's Law by issuing high fees or denying access to police records could have funding withheld.

Vanessa Atterbeary introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would raise the minimum age for marriage from 15 to 18 years.