Sheree Sample-Hughes is an American politician who is the

Speaker pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of 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 serves as a Delegate to the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...

representing legislative district 37A in Dorchester and Wicomico Counties on

Maryland's eastern shore The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that ...

Personal life

Sample-Hughes was born on September 13, 1977 and attended Parkside High School in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury () is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region. The population was 33,050 at the 2020 United ...

. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in public relations from

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

and a master's degree in public administration from

Wilmington University Wilmington University (WilmU) is a private university with its main campus in Wilmington Manor, Delaware, with a New Castle street address. - It was founded in 1968 as Wilmington College by educator Dr. Donald E. Ross. As of 2016, the univer ...

. Sample-Hughes worked as an affordable housing coordinator for the City of Pocomoke and later as a staffer in the Governor's Office of Service and Volunteerism. She has been involved in a number of community organizations including the local chapter of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

sorority, the Charles Chipman Cultural Center, and the Wicomico County Democratic Club. In 2006, she was appointed to the Commission on Correctional Standards and served in that capacity until 2014.

Political career

In 2006, Sample-Hughes successfully sought election to the Wicomico County Council, representing the 1st council district. She would serve as Vice President of the Council in 2009 and 2010, and during her time on the Council served on the board of trustees of the Wicomico County Free Library, as a member of the Social Services Advisory Board, as a member of the Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore, and on the Board of Directors of Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development, Incorporated. Following the retirement of Rudolph C. Cane from the

in 2014, Sample-Hughes ran to replace him. She was uncontested in both the primary and general elections.

In the Legislature

Upon being sworn into the legislature in January, 2015, Sample-Hughes was appointed to serve on the Health and Government Operations Committee and the Joint Committee on Behavioral Health and Opioid Use Disorders. She has served in leadership roles in a number of caucuses in the legislature, including as Secretary of the

Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Inc. (also known as The Maryland Legislative Black Caucus) is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to the Maryland General Assembly. Incorporated in 1970, the Caucus m ...

, on the Executive Committee of the Veteran's Caucus, and on the Executive Board of the Women Legislators of Maryland. She also serves on a number of non-legislative committees and commissions, including the State Council on Cancer Control, the Rural Maryland Council, the Board of Directors of the Maryland Patient Safety Center, the Work Group on Rural Health Care Delivery, and the Virginia Jones Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Council.

Speaker Pro Tem

Sheree Sample-Hughes swearing-in ceremony

On January 8, 2020, after serving five years in the Maryland House of Delegates, Sample-Hughes was sworn in as the Speaker Pro Tem of the Maryland House.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sample-Hughes, Sheree 1977 births 2020 United States presidential electors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American state legislators in Maryland African-American women in politics Living people Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Women state legislators in Maryland 20th-century African-American women