On June 17, Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) won a special election to fill the seat of former Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD), who resigned in May. Rep. Edwards was sworn in on June 19.
Her election marks a milestone for women in Congress, bringing the total number of women serving in the 110th Congress to 91, including a record 75 women in the House of Representatives, and sixteen women in the Senate.
Early in her career, Rep. Edwards worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center translating technical documents into layman’s language. She then attended law school and worked on several public interest issues. She also co-founded and served as the executive director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence and worked to enact the Violence Against Women Act (P.L. 103-322) in 1994.
Rep. Edwards holds a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and a law degree from Franklin Pierce Law School. She is the first African American woman elected to represent Maryland in the House of Representatives.
