Jheanelle Wilkins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jheanelle Wilkins
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 20th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 25, 2017
Appointed by	Larry Hogan
Preceded by	William C. Smith Jr.
Personal details
Born	(1988-05-29) May 29, 1988 (age 35) Kingston, Jamaica
Political party	Democratic
Residences	Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Delaware (B.A.) American University (M.P.A.)

Jheanelle K. Wilkins (born May 29, 1988) is an American politician who has represented District 20 in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as the Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland - the largest Black Caucus in the nation - since 2022. Wilkins is the Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Early life and education

Wilkins was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and moved to the United States with her family when she was five. She grew up in New Castle, Delaware with her mother and older brother. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from the University of Delaware and a masters of public administration in social policy from American University. She was initiated into the Lambda Gamma chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at the University of Delaware in Spring 2006. After moving to Silver Spring, Maryland to pursue graduate school, Jheanelle became involved with local politics and began to pursue her passion for impactful policy change. She began serving on boards and commissions such as the Montgomery County Committee on Hate/Violence, leading advocacy on social justice issues, and volunteering on local campaigns before winning election to the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee in 2014.

Career

Early career

Wilkins started as an intern at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in 2008 and has served in various roles, including field assistant, field associate, and field manager. She now serves as the group's Director of State and Local Government Affairs. During her tenure at The Leadership Conference, she has worked to advance immigration reform, education equity, and civil rights legislation by training and mobilizing local leaders all over the country.

She served on the board of the Montgomery County Association of Black Democrats and was active with the Montgomery County Young Democrats. In 2014, she was elected to the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee.

Awards

• Black Maternal Health Leader Award (Baltimore Healthy Start)
• Regional Legislator of the Year (National Black Caucus of State Legislators)
• Legislative All Star Award (Maryland Retailers Association)
• Legislative Champion Award (Maryland Women's Caucus)
• Dorothy Davidson Award (Montgomery County Young Democrats)
• Empowering Women Award (YWCA)

Maryland House of Delegates

Wilkins has served as the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland since 2022.

In December 2016, after state delegate William C. Smith Jr. was appointed to the Maryland Senate following Jamie Raskin's election to the U.S. House of Representatives in Maryland's 8th congressional district, Wilkins applied to fill the vacancy left by Smith in the Maryland House of Delegates. The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee voted 19–9 to nominate Wilkins to the Maryland House of Delegates on January 10, 2017. She was appointed to the seat by Governor Larry Hogan on January 24, and was sworn in the following day. She is the first African-American woman to represent this district, and became the first Black woman elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in county history alongside Pamela Queen and Charlotte Crutchfield after winning election to a full term in 2018, during which she ran on a slate with Smith, state delegate David Moon, and Lorig Charkoudian.

In December 2022, Wilkins was elected as the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, succeeding Darryl Barnes. She is the first chair elected from Montgomery County. As Chair, she has led the Caucus in setting a robust agenda for the legislative session focused on 5 priority areas:

• Wealth and Black Businesses
• Health access
• Access to Housing
• Education Equity
• Justice Reform

Committee assignments

• Vice-Chair, Ways and Means Committee, 2023–present (member, 2017–present; education subcommittee, 2017–2020; finance resources subcommittee, 2017–2019; revenues subcommittee, 2019–2020; early childhood subcommittee, 2021–present; chair, election law subcommittee, 2021–present)
• Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, 2023–present
• Parliamentarian, 2020–2023

Political positions

Education

In October 2012, Wilkins attended a rally at the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the University of Texas in Fisher v. University of Texas, which held that colleges have some discretion to consider race when making admissions decisions.

During the 2019 legislative session, Wilkins introduced legislation to expand discrimination prohibitions that apply to private schools.

In December 2022, administrators of Maryland's 529 college savings plan discovered a calculation error affecting all 31,000 prepaid accounts, which led to the Maryland Prepaid College Trust suspending interest payments and preventing families from accessing their prepaid plans. During the 2023 legislative session, Wilkins said she would support legislation to increase transparency in the agency.

Housing

During the 2019 legislative session, Wilkins introduced legislation that would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants without providing a "just cause". The bill was rejected by the House Environment and Transportation Committee, and was reintroduced in 2021 and 2022.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland, Wilkins led a letter to Governor Larry Hogan calling on him to cancel rent and mortgage payments for residents and businesses affected by the pandemic. During the 2021 legislative session, she introduced legislation to prevent landlords from raising rent or issuing charges during public health crises.

In 2023, Wilkins introduced and passed legislation to allocate $15 million toward rental assistance vouchers.

Social issues

..... In 2022, Wilkins said she opposed the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, saying that the ruling would disproportionately affect marginalized people.

During the 2019 legislative session, Wilkins introduced legislation that would require the state to disclose how much it pays prisoners who work while serving prison sentences. The legislation passed and became law.

In March 2020, Wilkins was a sponsor of the CROWN Act, which would ban discrimination based on hairstyle in Maryland.

Taxes

In 2020, Wilkins introduced legislation to provide tax breaks to small businesses affected by the construction of the Purple Line.

During the 2021 legislative session, Wilkins supported legislation to extend the state's earned income tax credit to Individual Taxpayer Identification Number taxpayers.

Voting rights

During the 2021 legislative session, Wilkins introduced legislation that would allow voters to opt into a permanent vote-by-mail list.

During the 2023 legislative session, Wilkins argued against legislation that would create special elections to fill vacancies in the Maryland General Assembly, saying that she felt that candidates of color would struggle to fundraise in special elections and that the central committee nomination process led to more minority candidates serving in the legislature.

Electoral history