Liz Malia
State Representative
Jamaica Plain - Roxbury - Roslindale - Dorchester
About Liz
Elected to the House of Representatives in 1998, Liz Malia represents the 11th Suffolk District. Serving a district that consists of parts of Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Dorchester and Roslindale, Representative Malia has dedicated her tenure to constituent services and improving the quality of life for residents in her district.
She has worked extensively on public safety issues, improving community relations with the police, worked to promote independence and well-being of the elderly and worked to ensure transparent and inclusive community development processes.
In the legislature, she serves as the Assistant Vice Chair of the Committee on Ways and Means. She also serves on Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development and as the House Chair of the Women’s Legislative Caucus (191st General Court).
As the former House Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery for more than a decade, Representative Malia led efforts to improve access to mental health and substance abuse services, especially in communities of color. She received the Presidential Award by the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society and the Kathleen M. Scanlan Advocacy Award by the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling for her commitment to mental health issues.
In addition, Representative Malia led the legislative efforts against human trafficking and has championed such issues as marriage equality, CORI reform, foreclosure legislation, affordable housing, immigrants’ rights, women’s health issues and many others.
Born in upstate New York, Liz Malia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College and later attended the Women in Politics and Government program at UMass. She lives in Jamaica Plain with her wife Rita and their dog, Bobo.