Vanessa E. Atterbeary
43, state delegate from Howard County
Freshman Democrat Vanessa E. Atterbeary capped a strong first term in the House of Delegates with a breakout year. She sponsored a successful bill making it easier to convict serial rapists and requiring domestic abusers to surrender their guns. House Speaker Michael E. Busch rewarded her performance on the House Judiciary Committee by naming her vice chairman — an unusually fast promotion. And she’s done all this while raising three children. “My four years were a slow crescendo that ended up on a really high note,” Atterbeary says. “I’m hoping to do the same in the next four years.”