Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Shirley Nathan-Pulliam
MSA SC 3520-12283

Biography:

Born in Trelawny, Jamaica, West Indies, May 20, 1939.  Attended Mico School, Kingston, Jamaica; Naburn and Bootham Park Hospitals School of Nursing, Yorkshire, England, 1960; Baltimore City Hospital School of Practical Nursing, L.P.N., 1962; Baltimore Community College, A.A., nursing, 1975; University of Maryland at Baltimore, B.S., nursing, 1980; The Johns Hopkins University, M.A.S., administrative science, 1987.  Divorced; three children, five grandchildren.

General Assembly:
Maryland Senate, Legislative District 44 (D), Baltimore City & County, January 14, 2015-December 1, 2019. Retired December 1, 2019. Vice-Chair, Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, 2019 (member, 2015-19; co-chair, health subcommittee, 2017-19, member, 2015-19; member, alcohol subcommittee, 2019). Member, Death with Dignity Work Group, 2015; Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, 2015-19; Joint Committee on the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area, 2016-19; Legislative Policy Committee, 2019. Member, Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, 2015-19; Women Legislators of Maryland, 2015-19; Maryland Green Caucus, 2015-19; Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Caucus, 2015-19.

House of Delegates, Legislative District 10 (D), Baltimore County, January 11, 1995-January 14, 2015. Member, Environmental Matters Committee, 1995-2003 (health & public utilities subcommittee, 1995-99; health subcommittee, 1999-2003); Joint Committee on Health Care Delivery and Financing, 1995-2014; Joint Legislative Task Force on Organ and Tissue Donations, 1997-98; Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, 2003-11. Deputy Majority Whip, 2003-15. Member, Health and Government Operations Committee, 2003-15 (health facilities, equipment & products subcommittee, 2003-04; long-term care subcommittee, 2003-04; public health subcommittee, 2003-05; insurance subcommittee, 2005-15; chair, minority health disparities committee, 2004-15); Rural Health-Care Work Group, 2011-15. Former member, Liaison Work Group, Baltimore City Delegation. Secretary, Baltimore County Delegation, 2003-date unknown. Member, Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland (formerly Maryland Legislative Black Caucus), 1995-2015 (1st vice-chair, 2000-02; chair, health care committee, 2000; chair, legislative review committee, 2001-date unknown; member, redistricting committee, 2000-02; secretary, 2002-04). Member, Women Legislators of Maryland, 1995-2015 (executive board, 1998-2000; legislative committee, 2001-date unknown; 2nd vice-president, 2003-04; president-elect, 2005-06; president, 2006-07); Maryland Green Caucus, 1996-2015; Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Caucus, 2003-15. Member, National Black Caucus of State Legislators (vice-chair, committee on health, 2003-05); National Conference of State Legislatures (human services & welfare committee).

Private Career and Other Public Service:
Member, Social Services Commission, Baltimore City, 1990-94. Member, Task Force on Maryland's Dairy Industry, 1995-97; Asbestos Oversight Committee, 1995-2005; Maryland Medicaid Advisory Committee, 1996-2019; State Advisory Council on Nutrition, 1998-2000. Co-Chair, Effectiveness Committee of Task Force to Study Increasing the Availability of Substance Abuse Programs, 1998-2001. Member, Maryland Advisory Council for New Americans, 1998-2004; Task Force on Quality of Care in Nursing Facilities, 1999; Task Force to Study Health Care Needs of Inmates in Transition from Correctional Institutions, 2000-02; Oversight Committee on Quality of Care in Nursing Homes, 2000-05; Task Force on the Needs of Persons with Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, 2005-06; Oversight Committee on Quality of Care in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities, 2005-19; Adult Sickle-Cell Disease Care Working Group, 2006; Work Group on Cultural Competency and Workforce Development for Mental Health Professionals, 2007-08; Mental Health Oversight Committee, 2007-15; Statewide Steering Committee on Services for Adults with Sickle Cell Disease, 2007-19; Task Force on the Discipline of Health Care Professionals and Improved Patient Care, 2008-09; State Advisory Council on Hereditary and Congenital Disorders, 2011-15; Task Force to Study Point-of-Care Testing for Lead Poisoning, 2013-14; Advisory Board for the Task Force on the Social Determinants of Health in Baltimore City, 2018-19; Task Force on Reconciliation and Equity, 2018-19.

Registered nurse and business owner. Faculty Associate, The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 1997-2000. Member, Democratic State Central Committee, 1990-94; Legislative and Executive Committee, Maryland Democratic Party, 1990-94. Delegate, Democratic Party National Convention, 1996. Member, Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee, 2014-. Board of Directors, Planned Parenthood of Maryland, 1996-99. Founder or co-founder: Maryland Black Congress on Health Law and Economics; Black Mental Health Alliance; Baltimore City Community College Nursing Alumni Association; Jamaican Association of Maryland. Member, Black Mental Health Alliance; Maryland Nurses Association; American Nurses Association; National Black Nurses Association; National Association of Health Service Executives (Community Service Award, Sigma Theta Tau International 1997); Honor Society of Nursing, 1996-. Member, National Political Congress of Black Women; Women Power, Inc. Inductee, Alumni Hall of Distinction, Baltimore City Community College. Legislator of the Year, Maryland Nursing Association, 1997. Legislative award, Mid-Atlantic Community Health Center, 1999. Legislator of the Year, American Heart Association, 2001. Certificate of Appreciation, the Consul General of Jamaica, 2001. Certificate of Merit, New York State Senate, 2001. Distinguished Service Award, Barbados National Association of Baltimore, 2002. Maryland's Top 100 Women, Daily Record, 2002, 2005, 2007 (Circle of Excellence). Legislative award, Metropolitan Baltimore Branch, Mental Health Association of Maryland, 2003. Positive People Award, Baltimore Times, 2003. Value Hours Award, Fullwood Foundation, Inc., 2004. Judith Bennett-Sattler Award, Jamaican Women of Washington, Inc., 2007. Hepatitis Hero of Maryland, Maryland Hepatitis Coalition, 2011. Legislator of the Year, Maryland Association of Resources for Families and Youth, 2012. Senator John Heinz III Award, National Adult Day Services Association, 2018. Legislative Champion Award, Women Legislators of Maryland, 2018. First Citizen Award, Maryland Senate, 2021.

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