Michelle Maldonado

Michelle Maldonado
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2022
Preceded by	Lee J. Carter
Constituency	50th district (2022–2024) 20th district (2024–present)
Personal details
Born	Falmouth, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Roberto Maldonado
Children	1
Education	Columbia University (BA) George Washington University (JD)

Michelle Lopes Maldonado (/ˈmiːʃɛl/ MEE-shel) is an American business leader, former corporate and tech lawyer, and member of the Democratic Party. A Virginia resident since 1993, Maldonado has served in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2022 and currently represents Virginia's 20th district. She represented Virginia’s 50th District from 2022-2024, and was a candidate for the U.S. Congress (VA-CD10) in 2024.

Early life

Michelle Maldonado was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts to a family of educators and military veterans with Cape Verdean heritage. She was raised Catholic, and Portuguese language and traditions were dominant at home. At various points in her childhood, Maldonado lived in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Texas and experienced food and housing insecurity.

Education

Maldonado holds a B.A. from Barnard College at Columbia University where she pursued a combined major in Latin American studies and Spanish literature and language.

Maldonado received her Juris Doctorate from George Washington University Law School, and was admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C., and Virginia.

Professional work

Maldonado began her career as a corporate and tech lawyer, with experience in online privacy, backend platform technologies, strategic partnerships and business development, and workforce development. She later pivoted to become a business leader focused on personal and professional leadership and organizational development. As founder of Lucenscia, “a firm dedicated to “human flourishing, emotional intelligence, and mindful business transformation,” her work involved domestic and international collaborations with government agencies, corporations, non-profits/NGOs, and higher-ed communities.

Maldonado has served as founding faculty for 1440 Multiversity's Leadership Center, Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence Coaching Certification program, and Bill George's True North Leadership program at 1440 Multiversity.

Maldonado’s work has been featured at the DQ Institute in association with the World Economic Forum and Mindful Leadership, the United Nations Global Engagement Summit, the Mindful Leader Summit, Thrive Global, Leadership Excellence (ref), the Human Capital Institute, and HuffPost. She is a frequent keynote speaker on AI/new and emerging technology, organizational performance, mindful leadership, and political service.

Volunteering

Maldonado serves on the Board of Directors for Sojourners and the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute. She is an Advisory Board member for the Francine LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being at Barnard College and Mindful Flint.

Political campaigns

Virginia House of Delegates (HD50)

Maldonado was galvanized to enter public service following the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and the attack on the United States Capitol, after which she wrote that “it is time for wise action, accountability, education and transformation.”

Maldonado entered the race for Virginia’s 50^th House of Delegates District in the 2021 election, primarying Democratic incumbent Delegate Lee J. Carter. She described her motivation at the time:

“I was inspired to run after seeing the divide and division in our country [...] I wanted to run to help us find common ground and shared interest so we could bring all parties to the table for constructive dialogue and get things done like jobs and the economy, healthcare and our education systems, the greening and strengthening of our infrastructure and transportation, and criminal justice reform–all through an equitable lens.”

She declined an endorsement from the NARAL Pro-Choice America during the 2021 election due to their support for the defunding of police.

In the democratic primary, Maldonado defeated activist Helen Zurita, and incumbent Carter by more than 5 points. During the primary campaign Carter had raised around $84,000, Maldonado raised around $56,000, and Zurita raised around $6,000. In November 2021, Maldonado won the seat over Republican candidate Steve Pleickhardt, receiving 54.7% of the vote becoming the first woman and person of color to represent this district area in the more than 400 year history of Virginia’s legislative body.

Virginia House of Delegates (HD20)

Following the 2020 census, Virginia redistricted boundaries for elected office. This changed district representations in the Virginia House of Delegates as of 2023. Maldonado therefore entered the 2023 race as a candidate for Virginia HD-20, defeating Republican opponent Sharon Ashurst with over 56% of the vote.

U.S. Congress (VA-CD10)

Maldonado announced her bid for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District seat in November 2023. Over a dozen candidates campaigned to succeed Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.), who had declined to run for re-election for health reasons. Maldonado lost the Democratic primary to State Sen. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Loudoun), who competes against Republican nominee Mike Clancy in the November 2024 election.

Endorsements

As a candidate for Virginia’s House of Delegates, Maldonado has received notable political endorsements that include former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Tim Kaine, US Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, US Congressman Gerry Connolly, US Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, and US Congressman Don Beyer.

Electoral history

2021 Virginia House of Delegates 50th district Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Michelle Maldonado	1,558	44.14%
	Democratic	Lee J. Carter (incumbent)	1,355	38.39%
	Democratic	Helen Zurita	617	17.48%
Total votes			3,530	100.00%

2021 Virginia House of Delegates 50th district election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Michelle Maldonado	14,426	54.70%
	Republican	Steve Pleickhardt	11,893	45.10%
		Write-in	52	0.20%
Total votes			26,371	100.00%

Political Service

Highlights

Maldonado’s legislative expertise is in technology, affordable housing, education, voting rights, economic and workforce development, and strategic partnerships. She is a self-described “bridge builder” with a “strong ability to bring people together across party lines and a wide array of issues.”

Workers’ Rights

A committed advocate for women’s rights and workers’ rights, Maldonado carried the Wage Transparency Bill in the Virginia House of Delegates for two years until it passed and was presented to Governor Youngkin for signature. Youngkin vetoed the bill in March 2024.

Maldonado supports increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour and has stated that "no person should be working 40 hours a week and still be at, below, or close to the poverty line."

Women’s and Reproductive Rights

Maldonado is a staunch advocate for women’s health. She has said that “When Roe v. Wade was overturned, nothing made it more clear how important it is to have judges that respect precedence, protect our rights, and reflect our values.”

Affordable Housing

Maldonado is Chair of the Democratic Caucus' Affordable Housing Policy Committee. She has successfully passed legislation focused on protecting Virginia homeowners, including HB1243 (“to keep Virginia homeowners safe from unscrupulous real estate brokerage firms taking homes away from families”).

Technology

Known for her expertise in AI, data privacy, and platform technologies, Maldonado passed Virginia’s Online Child Data Privacy Act with bipartisan support. She is founder and chair of the General Assembly’s bipartisan and bicameral Technology & Innovation Caucus, is the Policy Lead for the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus work on Digital Equity, and serves as a steering committee member for a national Multistate AI Policy Work Group (MAP-WG), which comprises state legislators from around the country.

Maldonado also sits on the Joint Commission on Science and Technology (JCOTS) and its AI subcommittee; the Southern Region Education Board (SREB) AI In Education Commission; the National Conference for State Legislators' Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Privacy and it's Data Center Work Group.

Legislative Accomplishments

Maldonado’s legislation for the 2024 session is extensive. A selection of Maldonado’s bills that have been signed into law include:

• HB 692 (“Larry's Law”/Elder Financial Exploitation)
• HB 699 (Opioids)
• HB 707 (Online Child Data Privacy Act)
• HB 744 (Automatic Subscription Renewals)
• HB 1243 (Unfair Real Estate Service Agreement Act).

Appointments and Memberships (2024)

Committee Membership

• Privileges and Elections
• Courts of Justice
• Communications, Technology and Innovation
• Labor and Commerce

Subcommittee Membership

• Chair: Courts of Justice - Judicial
• Chair: Labor and Commerce - Subcommittee #1
• Courts of Justice - Subcommittee #4
• Privileges and Elections - Election Administration
• Privileges and Elections - Constitutional Amendments
• Communications, Technology and Innovation - Communications Subcommittee

Other Commission & Committee Appointments

• Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy (Commission)
• Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board (GO Virginia)
• Health Insurance Reform Commission (HIRC)  (ref)

House Caucus Memberships

• Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (Digital Equity Policy Lead)
• Latino Caucus
• Maternal Health Caucus
• Gun Violence Prevention Caucus (Secretary)

• Technology & Innovation Caucus (Founding Chair) (ref)

Awards and Recognition

Since serving in the Virginia House of Delegates, Maldonado has been named “2024 Legislative Champion,” "2022 Rookie Legislator of the Year," and "Outstanding Ally to Public Education" by the Virginia Education Association.

For her non-political professional work, Maldonado has been named a “2024 Impact Maker” by Virginia Business Magazine, listed among 2020’s global “12 Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement;” recognized as “VIP Woman of The Year” by the National Association of Professional Women; cited as “Top Corporate Leader” by HR.com; and is an honorary member the Golden Key International Honour Society.