Dawn Adams

Dawn Marie Adams (born November 6, 1964) is an American politician serving as the Delegate from the 68th District of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2018. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Adams is a nurse practitioner and small business owner as well as a former Director of the Office of Integrated Health at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and a former Health Policy adjunct faculty at the Old Dominion University.
As an openly lesbian woman, Adams is the first lesbian elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia General Assembly.
Adams is one of five openly LGBT people serving in the Virginia General Assembly (alongside Adam Ebbin, Mark Sickles, Mark Levine, and Danica Roem).
Political career.
In 2017, Adams challenged Republican incumbent Manoli Loupassi for the 68th district seat in the House of Delegates, ultimately winning by 336 votes of the 40,000 cast in the district. Adams is Virginia's first openly lesbian member of the Virginia General Assembly, and became part of a record high with 25 women elected to the House of Delegates that year (the previous record had been 19).
Adams successfully passed 57% of her introduced legislation in 2019, and is the chief co-patron of 20 bills that became law in her first two years in office.
Her committee assignments include the House Militia, Police and Public Safety, and The House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committees.
She was reelected over Republican Garrison Coward in the 2019 Virginia House of Delegates election with a majority of 3,568 votes of the 38,000 cast.
Legislative issues.
Adams has stated that her legislative priorities are healthcare, particularly around issues affecting elderly and vulnerable populations, protecting and preserving the environment, providing children with a quality, affordable education, and creating infrastructure that builds healthier communities through better policy.
Healthcare.
Adams has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, which she says has made her aware of the struggles that many seniors experience, from chronic health issues to aging-at-home to financial stability. She believes that legislators have a responsibility to address this problem by decreasing barriers and providing pathways to the needed wraparound supports.