Representative Vanessa Atterbeary Contact information

Vanessa Elaine Atterbeary was born on June 24, 1975, in Columbia, Maryland. She attended Clemens Crossing Elementary School, Clarksville Middle School, and graduated from Atholton High School. She then 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.

While in law school, she started working at a shelter and participated in a clinic to help women gain protective orders. She is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. After graduating from law school, Atterbeary clerked for Judge David W. Young of the Baltimore City Circuit Court. Atterbeary was admitted to Maryland State Bar Association in 2001 and the District of Columbia Bar in 2002.

In 2002, Atterbeary joined the law firm Bulman, Dunie, Burke & Feld, where she worked as general counsel for five years. At the same time, she served on the Montgomery County Commission for Women, including as president. Atterbeary first ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in 2010, for the District 18 delegate seat. She came in fifth place in a field of six candidates, receiving 13 percent of the vote in the primary election.

In February 2014, Delegate Frank S. Turner approached her about filing to run in District 13, saying that he thought her Howard County roots would make her a more desirable candidate than she was in Montgomery County. She 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. She won the Democratic primary with 27.3 percent of the vote.

Atterbeary is married and has three children. She lives in Maple Lawn, Fulton, Maryland. Atterbeary was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 14, 2015. From 2018 to 2021, she served as the vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Since 2021, she has served as the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. In October 2023, after U.S. Representative John Sarbanes announced that he would not run for reelection in 2024, Atterbeary said that she was planning to run to succeed him in Congress.