Catherine E. Pugh

Catherine E. Pugh
Pugh in 2007
Member of the Maryland Senate
from the 40th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
2007
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 40th district
In office
2004–2007
Member of the Baltimore City Council from the 4th district
In office
1999–2004
Personal details
Born March 10, 1950
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Political party Democratic
Residence Baltimore, Maryland
Occupation Businesswoman

Catherine E. Pugh (born March 10, 1950) is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. She is currently serving in her 2nd term in the Maryland State Senate, representing Maryland's District 40 in Baltimore City.

Background

Catherine Pugh attended Morgan State University in Baltimore, from which she earned B.S. and M.B.A. degrees. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.[1]

Pugh is the President and CEO of C.E. Pugh & Company, a public relations firm. She founded Baltimore’s first African American business newspaper, the African American News and World Report. For the next several years, she served as the paper’s Managing Editor. Pugh also served as an independent editor for the Baltimore Sun from the mid 80's to early nineties. She also served as the dean and director for Strayer Business College (now Strayer University) in Baltimore.

Pugh returned to Philadelphia in 1994 to work in television at WTGW-TV 48. She was the host of “Another View,” a weekly public affairs program that focused on policy issues within the African American community and featured interviews with community leaders and public officials. Pugh also authored Mind Garden: Where Thoughts Grow and Healthy Holly, a children’s book series advocating exercise and healthy eating. She is the founder of such programs as the Baltimore Marathon; the Fish Out of Water Project, designed to promote Baltimore tourism and to raise money for local youth arts programs;and the Need to Read Campaign, a program designed to help illiterate Baltimore residents improve their reading skills.

Currently, Pugh is serving her second term in the Maryland State Senate.

Political career

Pugh was first elected to the Baltimore City Council, where she served from 1999 to 2004. Pugh was appointed to an open seat in the Maryland House of Delegates in 2005, where she served for one year before winning a seat in the State Senate in 2006. Pugh currently sits on the Finance Committee and serves as the Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate. Pugh is a past Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and the Women's Caucus of Legislators in Maryland. She leads the state on Cyber Security and Telemedicine expansion legislation. Pugh is also responsible for diversifying the state's pension fund having led the passage of Senate Bill 606, which led to African Americans and other people of color management of the 40billion dollar fund going from 300 million dollars to 4.2 billion. Catherine Pugh is currently President of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

References

  1. ↑ "Maryland Manual Online". Maryland State Archives. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-08.