Senator Angela Alsobrooks Visits the Eastern Shore

Salisbury, Md. — Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) spent Wednesday visiting locations around the Eastern Shore — speaking with constituents about their top-of-mind concerns and encouraging financial literacy skills.

One of the senator’s stops was a women’s business roundtable, meeting with a group of local women leaders, gathering their concerns and suggestions to take back to D.C.

Topics of conversation included priorities like health care access, transportation, the federal poverty level, and family care responsibilities placed on women in business.

“It was a really robust conversation and a really impressive group of women who have done exceptionally well,” Alsobrooks said.

Rachel Skinner, a lender relations specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration, said supporting businesses properly requires learning more about their circumstances.

“We need to learn what their problems and issues that they’re facing are, so that we can get them access to the resources that they need, again, to either get up and running or to really move on to that next level,” Skinner said.

One of the major issues raised was transportation – a frequent hurdle for residents on the Eastern Shore. Participants described the unique challenges faced by rural residents – and directly sharing experiences with their elected representatives is a way to bridge that gap.

“Allowing the senator to hear firsthand and have that understanding of the transportation challenges, you know, the challenge of getting to work or getting to a training. All of those things really have a ripple effect across our business community,” Skinner said.

Princess Anne town manager Dr. Kris Drummond said she appreciated the senator’s attentiveness to the issues and being in a collaborative space with other women leaders.

“If she [Alsobrooks] didn’t understand, she would say, ‘Hey, give me clarity on that.’ So, it was good to have her in the space, and it was good to understand that actually, everyone in the room really has the same thoughts, the same concerns, and this was just a great vehicle in which we could all discuss it together,” Drummond said.

For Alsobrooks – there’s no substitute for getting out into the community and receiving direct feedback. She said events like this roundtable are crucial in effectively delivering for constituents.

“I’ve always said it’s hard to represent people. You don’t know or understand, and the only way to come to know them is to go where they are, in our communities, to hear directly from them and to take that feedback back,” Alsobrooks said.

Alsobrooks also made a stop at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore for a financial literacy workshop. The workshop covered things like budgeting, saving, investing and the elements of a FICO credit score.

Senator Alsobrooks said financial literacy is a huge part of giving residents a shot at economic opportunity – adding to students that she wished someone had spoken to her about the topic at their age.

Alsobrooks told students that they shouldn’t feel limited and that they deserve a seat at important tables.

“I want them to see me as an example of a person who sat in their seat, and was able to achieve, some things that were against the odds. And I think it resonated well with them. And to encourage them not to be constrained by limitations, but to know that when you work hard, everything is possible,” Alsobrooks said.