Senator Antonio Hayes was first elected to the Maryland Senate in 2018 and has represented the 40th Legislative District of Maryland since January 9, 2019. Prior to becoming a State Senator, he served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2015-2019.

Throughout his tenure, Senator Hayes has held several key leadership roles, including Senate Majority Whip, Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus and Chair of the Executive Nominations Committee. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee and serves on the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review, and the Joint Committee on Federal Relations. He is also an active member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.

In 2021, Senator Hayes sponsored legislation that established the West North Avenue Development Authority. This authority was created to work with residents to develop a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy for areas that have not fully recovered from the 1968 riots. The authority includes community members, the President of Coppin University, and other key stakeholders, with Senator Hayes also serving as a member.

Among Senator Hayes' numerous legislative accomplishments are the Keep the Door Open Act, which committed $440 million to Community Behavioral Health Providers, the establishment of a Paid Family Leave Program, the creation of Health Equity Resource Communities with a $60 million commitment to address health disparities, the Extension of Maryland’s Minority and Women-Owned Business Program, measures to address the appraisal gap in historically redlined communities, efforts to combat racial bias in real estate appraisals, and the co-sponsorship of cannabis legalization.

In addition to his legislative work, Senator Hayes' public service includes membership on the Maryland Medicaid Advisory Committee, the Pimlico Community Development Authority, the local Video Lottery Development Council, and the Behavioral Health Advisory Council.

Senator Hayes is also deeply involved in his community. He is an active member of Empowerment Temple African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Baltimore, where he serves on the Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the Baltimore Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

A native of Baltimore, Senator Hayes has lived most of his life in the district he serves. He holds a B.S. in Political Science from Frostburg State University.

His professional career includes roles such as Legislative Aide to Delegate Salima Siler Marriott of Baltimore, Director of Legislative Affairs for the Baltimore City Council President (2003-2006), and Assistant Deputy Mayor of Administration (2007-2010). In addition to his legislative duties, he currently serves as Chief of Staff for the Baltimore City Department of Social Services.

Senator Hayes is married to Jenny Peña Dias, PhD, and they have two children, Antonio and Amaryllis Hayes.

Founded in 1980 and 100% employee owned, Room & Board has more than 1,100 staff members from our Minneapolis, Minnesota, headquarters to stores and delivery centers nationwide. American manufacturers make more than 90% of our furniture and decor, supporting local communities, businesses, and craftspeople across the country.

Sustainable practices have been fundamental to our company since 1980. Now, we’re setting ambitious goals for better products and practices in service to people and the planet. Supporting and building the well-being of staff, craftspeople and local communities is part of our everyday work.

As a 100% employee-owned company, we’re more than just staff members. We have an ownership interest in customer satisfaction and our shared success.

We also believe community involvement is an important part of our overall wellbeing. That is why we support organizations in the communities in which we live and work. Room & Board supports nonprofit organizations focused on environmental protection, community support and disaster relief. We are proud to donate 2% of our profits to these nonprofits annually. Some of the organizations are local Community Partners who were selected by staff members in the market, while others are making an impact on a national level.

We are proud to work beside Parks & People; they are a joy to work with. Their tireless efforts to impact Baltimore City with not only green spaces, but also safe and functional outdoor spaces for children is commendable. Their passion and efforts are not limited just to green spaces, but also camps for children, internships for high school students, job training programs, and supporting students with college application fees & scholarships.

Arica Gonzalez is a wife and mother of four beautiful children ages 18, 17, 11 and 3. A native of Queens, NY, she graduated with a degree in communications from Howard University in 2006, and moved to the Panway community in West Baltimore in 2008. She has served as a professional photographer under her own company, AJ Gonzalez Photo, for 11 years, but is often mistaken for her identical twin sister, who works as a Baltimore City school teacher, and in turn, will readily return the hugs of the random 5-12 year-olds who unknowingly confuse the two. She serves as a church worship leader, and thoroughly enjoys works of fiction, long distance runs, and warm cups of tea. She is the Founder and Executive Director of The Urban Oasis, a resident-created and led organization that started with $100 and is now pushing forward a multi-million-dollar transformative community plan. Gonzalez speaks and shares her vision to inspire other civic groups and offer lessons learned in activating her community

For Arica Gonzalez and her neighbors, hope started with a gate. Necessity and determination drove Gonzalez to enter into the largest successful alley gating and greening lease agreement with Baltimore City officials to gate the alley shared by 50 homes of her Panway neighborhood. With feral cats and rats, trash and abandoned cars, drug-dealing, and vacant houses, the alley symbolized a crumbling neighborhood structure.

“The city was asking us if we were willing to take control of this space we call home,” says Gonzalez. “Our answer was a resounding yes.” Now the alley is a welcoming greenspace, and the project, called The Urban Oasis, has become a model of how residents can build trust and spearhead structural revitalization initiatives in their community.

With major infrastructural improvements underway, “community now looks like gates, string-lights, brick pavers, and land donated. It looks like teenagers picking up trash, mowing lawns, designing murals and planting gardens. It looks like Sunday Dinner with an entire street of neighbors,” says Gonzalez. These structural improvements have been the first step in the vision for a self-sustained, wealth-generating, restorative community model.