Sen. Marie Pinkney represents the 13th District, which stretches from the Christiana River south to Red Lion Road and encompasses dozens of neighborhoods along Route 13.
Raised by her great aunt in Wilmington and New Castle, Pinkney graduated from Howard High School of Technology. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social work from Norfolk State University and a master’s degree in social work from Delaware State University.
After graduate school, she began working at a treatment center for adolescents with mental health and substance abuse issues. She also became the foster mother to a teen mother and her young son for many years.
Sen. Pinkney currently works as a social worker/case manager at ChristinaCare. She has dedicated her career to advocating alongside families seeking quality healthcare, access to resources, educational support, and government policies that support them.
Sen. Pinkney became the first African American LGBTQ+ person ever elected to the Delaware Senate in 2020. She is dedicated to fighting the negative impacts of racial and socioeconomic inequalities, as well as the stigmas and hurdles faced by formerly justice-involved individuals and those with limited educational backgrounds.
She currently serves as chair of the Senate Corrections & Public Safety Committee, and vice chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. She is a member of the Senate Executive Committee, Senate Health Committee and the Senate Housing & Land Use Committee. Sen. Pinkney also serves on the Capital Improvement Committee, which is responsible for writing the annual Bond Bill.
She lives in Bear with her German Shepherd Gandhi and her cat Penelope aka Penny Proud.
Education
Howard High School of Technology, Class of 2008; Bachelor’s degree, Social Work, Norfolk State University, 2013; Master’s degree, Social Work, Delaware State University, 2014
Occupation
Social worker/Case manager, ChristianaCare
Legislative Service:
Senate, 2020 to present
Committees:
- Corrections & Public Safety, Chair
- Agriculture, Vice-Chair
- Joint Capital Improvement, Member
- Executive, Member
- Health & Social Services, Member
- Housing & Land Use, Member
Legislative Highlights
Senate Bill 255
When a youth who is experiencing foster care and living in an out-of-home placement has a need for inpatient psychiatric treatment, there can be a delay in gaining voluntary admission to a facility due to the Division of Family Services […]
Senate Bill 316 with Senate Amendment 1
This Act caps the amount that an individual, group, or State employee plan may charge for diabetes equipment and supplies, other than insulin, at $35 per month. This cap does not apply to accident-only, specified disease, hospital indemnity, Medicare supplement, […]
Senate Bill 321 with Senate Amendment 1
This bill broadens the scope of mental health practitioners who are authorized by statute to conduct examinations with inmates for purposes of advising the Board of Pardons on matters material to the Board’s scope of review. This will enable licensed […]
Senate Bill 345
This Act modernizes Delaware’s probation system by doing the following: (1) Ending incarceration of probationers for technical violations. (2) Enabling the customization of conditions of probation to meet individual needs. (3) Requiring the collection and publication of data on probation. […]