Kathy Henderson is a “powerful voice for the community,” with a strong record of getting things done. Kathy served as an AMERICORPS *VISTA, helping children improve their reading skills in 16 D.C. schools, including in Ward 5. That success followed with her election as a 20-year award-winning advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 5; Kathy delivered new sidewalks, speed humps, streetlights, trees, recreation programming and works closely with law enforcement to reduce crime and strengthen resident-police relationships. Kathy stood up against drug dealers and led the fight to reclaim her community from constant gun violence and disorder and created the Landlord Roundtable and 5D Court Watch initiatives, which reduced crime. As a result of her efforts, long-term residents applauded and new residents moved into the community to enjoy opportunity and proximity to a cleaner Anacostia River.

Kathy is an environmentalist, underscoring her training as a biologist at Howard University and is a preservationist and former Committee of 100 trustee; she was appointed as a Member of the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board. Kathy also serves as a member of Pepco’s Citizen Advisory Group (CAG), which was created to help clean up the Anacostia River. Kathy advocated for the projects Atlas Flats (Union Heights), Starburst Plaza, Denny’s, Union Market, Hecht’s Ivy City, Rhode Island Row, Dakota Crossing, and other key D.C. projects, including Nationals Stadium. Kathy was elected city-wide as a Member of the D.C. Democratic State Committee. Kathy also worked for the Federal and District Governments where she helped put our residents back to work and was featured in Government News for her excellent work. Kathy cut through Government bureaucracy to install a dental suite at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, following a Court-ordered consent decree; Kathy won multiple awards for her work and she is a people’s champion!