Maria Cantwell currently serves as a United States Senator for the State of Washington. As a respected leader – both in public service and in the private sector – Maria has always embraced the values she first learned growing up in a strong working-class family. With the help of Pell Grants, Maria was the first member of her family to graduate college. Later, a successful businesswoman in Washington's hi-tech industry, she helped build a company that created hundreds of high-paying jobs from the ground up.
Maria has led some of the toughest fights to protect consumers from market manipulation on Wall Street. As a member of the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Maria has championed legislation to rein in excessive speculation on Wall Street, shine light on the dark derivatives market, stabilize the price of oil, and reinstate vital financial safeguards from the Glass-Steagall Act.