Senator Marie Pinkney

Sen. Marie Pinkney represents the 13th District, which stretches from the Christiana River south to Red Lion Road and encompasses dozens of neighborhoods along Route 13.

Raised by her great aunt in Wilmington and New Castle, Pinkney graduated from Howard High School of Technology. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social work from Norfolk State University and a master’s degree in social work from Delaware State University.

After graduate school, she began working at a treatment center for adolescents with mental health and substance abuse issues. She also became the foster mother to a teen mother and her young son for many years.

Sen. Pinkney currently works as a social worker/case manager at ChristinaCare. She has dedicated her career to advocating alongside families seeking quality healthcare, access to resources, educational support, and government policies that support them.

Sen. Pinkney became the first African American LGBTQ+ person ever elected to the Delaware Senate in 2020. She is dedicated to fighting the negative impacts of racial and socioeconomic inequalities, as well as the stigmas and hurdles faced by formerly justice-involved individuals and those with limited educational backgrounds.

She currently serves as chair of the Senate Corrections & Public Safety Committee, and vice chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. She is a member of the Senate Executive Committee, Senate Health Committee and the Senate Housing & Land Use Committee. Sen. Pinkney also serves on the Capital Improvement Committee, which is responsible for writing the annual Bond Bill.

She lives in Bear with her German Shepherd Gandhi and her cat Penelope aka Penny Proud.