Marian Walsh (born July 20, 1954) is an American author, consultant,

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and former politician. She is a former

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

where she served nine terms, and a former member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

where she served two terms. She was the first woman to serve in the Massachusetts State House and the State Senate from her district. Walsh began her own consulting and coaching firm upon leaving public office. She also authored ''Run'', a book about running for political office as well as started a campaign school at the Kennedy Library.

Early life and education

Walsh was born in Roslindale section of

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. She graduated from Ursuline Academy and

Newton College of the Sacred Heart Newton College of the Sacred Heart was a small Women's college, women's liberal arts college in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, Newton Centre, Massachusetts. It opened in and merged with Boston College in . The college was highly regarded during ...

with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

. She went on to earn a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Theological Studies from

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...

and earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the Private university, private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in Downtown Boston, downtown Boston, across the street from the Boston Common and the Fr ...

Legal career

Walsh is the former Chief Administrator at the Suffolk County

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

's Office. During her time at the district attorney's office she established the Victim/Witness Assistance Program. She also established the Homicide Response Team and the Organized Crime Division. She was later appointed Assistant Director of Governmental Relations for the

Massachusetts Medical Society The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the oldest continuously operating state medical association in the United States. Incorporated on November 1, 1781, by an act of the Massachusetts General Court, the MMS is a non-profit organization t ...

where she served as a lobbyist.

Political career

Walsh had a 22-year career in politics, beginning with her first election in 1988 when she was voted in as a member of the Massachusetts State House. She served the 10th Suffolk District in the House of Representatives between 1988 and 1992. During her political career, she helped to pass notable legislation including an amendment to increase education funding which directly affected

Norfolk County Agricultural High School Norfolk County Agricultural High School is a public high school in Walpole, Massachusetts, United States. The school offers specialty training to students who are interested in pursuing careers in Animal and Marine Science, Plant and Environmen ...

. She voted for gay civil marriage in March 2004 and also established jail diversion programs. During her career, she was also attributed with bringing back the Truman Rally, an election eve political rally in

West Roxbury West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the village of Chestnut Hill and the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest, t ...

. She was also the first state lawmaker to call for Cardinal Bernard Law to step down amid the

sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston The Archdiocese of Boston sex abuse scandal was part of a series of Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in the United States that revealed widespread crimes in the American Catholic Church. The Archdiocese of Boston includes the City of Boston an ...

in 2002. She also pushed for reform of the

Big Dig The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the then elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93 that cut across Boston into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 90 to Logan I ...

transportation project in Boston. Walsh was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 1992. During her career in the Senate, she served in numerous positions including as Senate Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committees on Taxation and the Committee on Housing and Urban Development. Other departments include Banks and Banking, Ways and Means, Public Service, Education, and Criminal Justice. She was appointed as assistant majority leader in 2003, and again in 2007 for the 2007-2008 legislative term.

Consultancy

Walsh did not run for re-election when her term was up in 2010. She began her own consulting firm and also began teaching at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

. Part of her consultancy includes the launching of the American Campaign School and Leadership Camp. She also published ''Run: Your Personal Guide to Winning Public Office'', a book about running for office.

Awards

Walsh was named one of Boston's ''100 Most Powerful Women'' by

Boston Magazine ''Boston'' (also called "''Boston'' magazine" or referred to by the nickname "BoMag") is a regional monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area, which has been in publication since 1962. History Metrocorp Publishing, a Philade ...

in 2003. She has also been named ''Legislator of the Year'' by various groups including the Environmental League of Massachusetts, the State Police Association, the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, the Alzheimer's Association of Eastern Massachusetts, and the ALS Society of Massachusetts. She was named one of Boston's ''Ten Most Outstanding Young Leaders'' by Boston Jaycees in 1990 and was awarded the ''Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus Abigail Adams Awards Recognition for Service'' in 2010.

References

External links

Walsh official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Marian 1954 births Harvard Divinity School alumni Living people Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Boston Suffolk University Law School alumni Women state legislators in Massachusetts Boston College alumni Lawyers from Boston People from Roslindale 21st-century American women politicians Newton College of the Sacred Heart alumni 21st-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 20th-century American women politicians