Pauline Menes

Pauline Menes (1924–2009) served in the Maryland House of Delegates for 40 years. In the 1970s she co-founded the Maryland Women's Legislative Caucus, the first caucus of its kind in the United States; founded the Women's Network of the National Conference of State Legislatures; and was the first woman to serve on the state Judiciary Committee. Over the years she helped pass more than 2,000 bills and policy changes. She was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2008.

Early life and education

She was born in New York City in 1904 and attended New York public schools. She studied business economics and geography at Hunter College, graduating with a B. A. degree in 1945.

After college she moved to Washington, D.C., to take a wartime job as an economist for the Office of the Quartermaster General of the United States Army. From 1949 to 1950, she worked as a geographer for the Army Map Service. During her tenure she focused on education, healthcare, criminal justice, aging, the arts, and women's issues, helping to pass over 2,000 bills and policy changes. At various times she was a member of the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, the Legislative Policy Committee, the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, the Joint Oversight Committee on Corrections, Prince George's County's Women's Hall of Fame, 1989 Annual MNADV Award, Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, 1995 Dewitt Award, Maryland Correctional Administrators Association, 2001 Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, 2008

She died of pneumonia at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, on May 16, 2009. She was buried at the King David Memorial Gardens in Falls Church, Virginia.