Dawn Marie Adams (born November 6, 1964) is an American politician serving as the

Delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

from the 68th District of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2018. She is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Adams is a

nurse practitioner A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe m ...

and

small business owner Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...

as well as a former Director of the Office of Integrated Health at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and a former Health Policy adjunct faculty at the

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

. As an openly lesbian woman, Adams is the first lesbian elected to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

and the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

. Adams is one of four openly LGBT people currently serving in the

(alongside Adam Ebbin,

Mark Sickles Mark D. Sickles (born February 18, 1957) is an American politician serving as the Delegate from the 43rd District of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2004. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Sickles serves as the Chair of the Health, ...

, and

Danica Roem Danica Anthony Roem ( ; born September 30, 1984) is an American journalist and politician of the Democratic Party. In the 2017 Virginia elections she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, winning the Democratic primary for the 13th di ...

Political career

In 2017, Adams challenged

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent

Manoli Loupassi George Manoli Loupassi (born June 8, 1967, in Richmond, Virginia) is an American politician of the Republican Party. From 2008 to 2018, he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He represented the 68th district, comprising parts of ...

for the 68th district seat in the House of Delegates, ultimately winning by 336 votes of the 40,000 cast in the district. Adams is Virginia's first openly lesbian member of the

, and became part of a record high with 25 women elected to the House of Delegates that year (the previous record had been 19). Her committee assignments include the House Militia, Police and Public Safety, and The House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committees. She was reelected over Republican Garrison Coward in the 2019 Virginia House of Delegates election with a majority of 3,568 votes of the 38,000 cast.

Legislative issues

Healthcare

Adams has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, which she says has made her aware of the struggles that many seniors experience, from chronic health issues to aging-at-home to financial stability. She believes that legislators have a responsibility to address this problem by decreasing barriers and providing pathways to the needed wraparound supports. Adams apologized to her constituents after receiving criticism for supporting a late-term abortion bill, saying: "I did not fully read a bill I agreed to co-patron and that wasn’t smart or typical. I will work harder and be better for it."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Dawn M. Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Women state legislators in Virginia LGBT state legislators in Virginia Lesbian politicians James Madison University alumni University of Virginia School of Nursing alumni Nurses from Virginia American women nurses Old Dominion University faculty 1964 births People from Pensacola, Florida 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American women academics 21st-century LGBT people

Political career

Legislative issues

Healthcare

See also

References