Geraldine Valentino-Smith (born March 5, 1964) is an American politician who represented district 23A in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

and a former member of the Bowie City Council.

Background

Valentino Smith was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. She attended Bowie High School. She received a B.S. degree in nursing from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

in 1987. She is married with three children.

Career

Smith started her career as a clinical nurse with the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

. She received a JD. in 1992 from the Columbus School of Law. She is an Attorney and a member of the Board of Directors of the Prince George's Municipal Association and is the chair of the legislative committee. She is a member of the Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy at the Children's National Medical Center. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Mutual Insurance Company of America and is on the finance committee. Since 2011 she has served on many state councils, boards, committees and commissions during her tenure in the state house. She was a member of the Bowie City Council, At Large from 2007 to November 15, 2010. She is a member of the Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee, and Metropolitan Development Policy Committee of Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

In the legislature

Valentino-Smith has been a member of House of Delegates since January 12, 2011, and was appointed to the Judiciary Committee. She is also a member of the Women Legislators of Maryland. In January 2020, Valentino-Smith was appointed by House Speaker

Adrienne A. Jones Adrienne A. Jones (born November 20, 1954) is the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, the first African-American and first woman to serve in that position in Maryland. Initially appointed by Governor Parris Glendening to fill the vacancy ...

as the House Chair of the General Assembly's joint Spending Affordability Committee. On March 18, 2020, Jones removed Valentino-Smith as Chair moments after Valentino-Smith voted against a proposal which Jones supported to give the legislature more power over the state budget.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentino-Smith, Geraldine Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates 20th-century American lawyers Columbus School of Law alumni Catholic University of America alumni 1964 births Living people Women state legislators in Maryland Politicians from Brooklyn 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American lawyers Maryland lawyers Maryland city council members Women city councillors in Maryland Lawyers from New York City People from Bowie, Maryland 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers Politicians from Prince George's County, Maryland 21st-century Maryland politicians