1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CHARLES DEAN, 25, of Ridgely, is a world history teacher at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn. He is vice president and immediate past secretary of the Caroline County Democratic Central Committee. He is founder and president of the 1st District Democrats, which he began in 2002, and is treasurer of the Eastern Shore Democratic Central Committee. Dean is also a member-at-large of the Maryland Democratic Party Executive Committee. His family was the first in Caroline County to enter into the Land Preservation Program, which protects farmland from development. This will be his first convention. INA TAYLOR, 70, of Bel Air, is a retired administrative assistant for the state of Maryland. She also formerly worked for her husband's electrical contracting company. Taylor, a state elector in the 2000 presidential election who cast her vote for Al Gore, will be attending her second convention as a delegate. She was pledged to Paul Tsongas in 1992. She was the local coordinator in Harford County for both Bill Clinton and Al Gore and worked on gubernatorial campaigns in 1994 and 1998. DONNA CANTOR, 60, of St. Michaels, is retired after spending more than 20 years managing nonprofit organizations centered on health, education and women in the workplace. She has also worked with medical educators in teaching and community hospitals, as well as with medical technology groups. This will be her first convention. She said she is attending this convention as a delegate because she admires Kerry so much, though she has not always voted for Democratic candidates. CHERYL EVERMAN, 50, of Federalsburg, is a part-time marketing consultant for Anvil Logic in Fairfax. She also owns Everman Consulting with her husband. Before that, she was director of marketing for a technology company called Systems Integration Inc. and vice president of marketing for Telos Corp. This will be her first convention. JOSEPH ALDEN, 29, of Severna Park, is an associate with Hyatt, Peters & Weber LLP in Annapolis and a graduate of Boston College Law School. He specializes in civil litigation and was formerly the legislative counsel in the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee. He also worked as an intern for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., from December 1993 to May 1995, and as an intern in the White House counsel's office from July to December 1995. He will be attending his first convention. Alternate EDMUND "TODD" BENNETT, 37, of Annapolis, is a partner specializing in family law in the Annapolis firm Brennan, Trainor, Billman and Bennett. He is a graduate of American University Law School. He helped found the firm in January 2002, but has worked as an attorney in Annapolis since 1995. He also is secretary, treasurer and vice president of the Cape St. Claire Board of Governors and is a Kerry supporter in the state bar association. A separated father of two, this will be his first convention. 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CLIFFORD COLLINS, 57, of Randallstown, has taught music, Spanish and special education at Baltimore County Public Schools as a long-term substitute. He represented the NAACP as a member of the Decennial Census Advisory Committee and has served as a board member of the Baltimore County NAACP. He is a member of the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee, the Baltimore County Northwest Area Educational Advisory Council and the Baltimore County Advisory Commission on Environmental Quality. He ran unsuccessfully for the Baltimore County Council in 2002. This is his first convention, and he is pledged to Kerry. He said he finds this election "one of the most important, if not the most important, election in the history of this country. It's going to chart exactly what direction this country is going in." MABEL MURRAY, 69, of Randallstown, holds a doctorate from Virginia Tech University, and has been an educator for 46 years, most recently providing training in human relations, time management and organizational skills. She has been president of the Baltimore County chapter of the sorority Delta Sigma Theta; the Maryland council of Delta Sigma Theta; National Pinochle Bugs, a political organization with 30 chapters around the country; the local chapter of the National Pinochle Bugs; the Capital City chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women; and eastern regional director of Societas Docta, Inc., an organization of African-American women with terminal degrees. This is Murray's first convention. She pledged to John Kerry in November: "I was a Kerry delegate before Kerry was cool." ALEXANDER BOULTON, 59, of Baltimore, has taught history at Villa Julie College in Stevenson for eight years. He holds a doctorate in history from the College of William and Mary. A Vietnam-era veteran, he volunteered on the George McGovern campaign in 1972. He is pledged to Kerry. This will be his first national political convention. LORRETTA JOHNSON, 65, of Baltimore, has served as president of the paraprofessional chapter of the Baltimore Teachers Union since 1978. She is also president of the American Federation of Teachers in Maryland; vice president of the American Federation of Teachers in Washington; recording secretary of the Baltimore AFL-CIO; and vice president of the Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO. Johnson is pledged to Edwards at the 2004 convention, her fifth. JAY HIDDEN, 53, of Sparrows Point, worked at Bethlehem Steel as a roll grinder operator for 20 years. In 1990, he switched careers and became a computer programmer. He was "involuntarily retired" in 2001. He has been president of several civic organizations, including the Northpoint chapter of the Jaycees from 1978 to 1979; the Battle Grove Democratic Club from 1979 to 1983; and the Baltimore County Federation of Democratic Clubs in 1981. He was district director of the Maryland Jaycees from 1979 to 1980. He is financial secretary, newsletter editor, and Web site administrator for the New 7th Democratic Civic Club in Dundalk. This is his first national political convention. He is pledged to Edwards. Alternate Y. MARIA WELCH, 41, of Lutherville, is president and CEO of her own company, Respira Medical, a respiratory and home medical equipment distribution company. She serves on several boards including Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, Women Impacting Public Policy, American Lung Association of Maryland, and the Baltimore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She founded the Better Breathing Foundation against chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in honor of her father, Miguel Better, an iron worker who died after prolonged exposure to asbestos. This is Welch's first national political convention. She is an alternate pledged to Kerry. 3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BILL BURLISON, 73, of Odenton served six terms as a U.S. Representative from Missouri, from 1969-1981. He served three terms as a state's attorney in Missouri from 1962-1968. He is serving his second term on the Anne Arundel County Council. He settled his family in Fort Washington when he was elected to Congress in 1968 and moved to Anne Arundel County in 1983. He has two bachelor's degrees, two master's degrees, and a juris doctorate. He has his own law practice in Odenton. He attends and is a member of the Board of Deacons for the Crofton First Baptist Church. He is married and has three children from a previous marriage. This will be his fourth convention. THOMAS J. DOLINA, 48, of Baltimore, is an attorney with Bodie, Nagle, Dolina, Smith, & Hobbs, P.A. in Towson. He coordinated Baltimore Area Volunteers for John Edwards for President and is a member of city and county Democratic Clubs of Baltimore. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1978 and received his law degree from the University of Baltimore in 1981. He is married with two children. This will be his first time officially attending a convention, though he went to the 2000 convention as a spectator. KATHLEEN J. FORD, 49, of Baltimore, is an attorney specializing in employment law, currently on hiatus from her practice. She was formerly in-house counsel for Union Pacific Railroad from 1989 to 1994, First Data Corporation from 1994 to 1999, and Amtrak from 1999 to 2001. She received her law degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., in 1987. She is married and has two children. This will be her first convention, and she is pledged to Kerry. MARVIN HURWITZ, 66, of Baltimore, is a self-employed medical and financial adviser. He received a bachelor's degree in political science from Boston University and a master's in journalism from Northwestern University. He began his career as a sports writer in the Boston area and came to Baltimore in 1978 to work in the publications department at Johns Hopkins University. He is married and has two children. He volunteered for the Kennedy campaign in the Chicago area in 1960, but this is his first convention. He is pledged to Kerry. JOAN PRATT, 52, of Baltimore, is the city's comptroller. She was a certified public accountant before becoming comptroller in 1995. She was a delegate pledged to Gore at the 2000 convention and is pledged to Edwards this year. She received her master's in taxation from the University of Baltimore in 1991 and her bachelor's from the Hampton Institute in 1974. She attends and is a trustee of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore. DOROTHY WALSH D'AMATO, 55, of Annapolis, is a senior adviser to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. She is a retired executive in government and political affairs and former chairwoman of Ameritech's Team Ameritech Political Action Committee. She represented corporate interests as an active donor to the Democratic National Committee's Business Council and the Women's Leadership Forum. She has attended five previous Democratic conventions (1984-2000) as a major donor and telecommunications vendor. She has worked on several national, state, and local campaigns. She is married to Dick D'Amato, a former Maryland Assembly delegate, who is also a delegate to this year's convention. She is pledged to Kerry. She attends St. Mary's Church in Annapolis. Alternate RAYMOND M. RANKIN, 40, of Columbia, has been active in Maryland politics for 10 years. He has served on the Howard County Democratic Central Committee since 1996, as vice chair from 1998-2000. He is the co-coordinator for Howard County on the Maryland State Steering Committee for Kerry. A network analyst for Anne Arundel County School System for about five years, he has worked for the school system for 17 years. He is married with two daughters. He is pledged to Kerry. - MORE-

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