State Representative Rebekah Warren represents the 53rd House District, which consists almost the entire city of Ann Arbor and includes the University of Michigan. She is currently serving in her second term in the Michigan House of Representatives. She acts as Chair of the Great Lakes and Environment Committee and is a member of the Judiciary Committee, Tax Policy Committee, Oversight and Investigations Committee, and Government Operations Committee.
Rebekah has worked in Lansing since 1993, serving for nearly six years as a legislative assistant to Democratic State Representatives Mary Schroer (Ann Arbor) and Hubert Price (Pontiac). She and later served as the executive director of MARAL Pro-Choice Michigan, the state’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-choice organization, from 1999-2006.
During her first term in the House, Rebekah received statewide acclaim for her ability to reach across the aisle and negotiate the bipartisan passage of landmark water protection legislation that effectively bans the diversion of Great Lakes water from outside the basin.
She has been honored for her extensive record of achievement with the National Women’s Political Caucus of Michigan’s “Millie Award,” MichBio’s Legislator of the Year Award, the Alliance for the Great Lakes Great Lakes Ally of the Year Award, Progress Michigan’s 2008 Progressive State Representative Cherry Award, the Michigan Non-Profit Association's 2009 Non-Profit Champion Award, the Michigan Soft Drink Association's 2009 Legislative Leadership Award, Trout Unlimited's Order of the Hexegenia, and Clean Water Action's 2009 Lawmaker of the Year Award.
Rebekah, a Michigan native, who found a home in Ann Arbor 19 years ago as a University of Michigan student. She is actively involved in Washtenaw County Democracy for America (DFA), Women Progressive Activists (WPA), Women In Government, and National Conference of Environmental Legislators (NCEL). She currently chairs the House Pro-Choice Caucus and co-chairs the House Recycling Caucus and the Legislative Biotechnology Caucus (LBC).
She is a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Agriculture and Energy Committee, Budgets and Revenues Committee, Environment Committee, Law and Criminal Justice Committee, and Redistricting and Elections Committee. Her passion for local community service and investment also guide her volunteer work; she has served as Chair of the Community Development Executive Committee for the city of Ann Arbor.
She and her husband, Washtenaw County Commissioner Conan Smith, now reside on the historic west side of Ann Arbor, where they enjoy living in the hotbed of progressive activism and helping to advance the causes of the non-profits they support.