In addition to being an established businesswoman, Monique Anderson Walker is a community servant. She has assumed several leadership roles to strengthen the community through The Prince George’s County, Maryland Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, notably sharing links at the Legislator since 2008. She served as Vice Chair at the Community Foundation in Prince George’s County for a decade and served on the advisory board at St. Ann’s Center for Youth, Families and Children also in Prince George’s County. In her membership and board positions, she puts her energy into improving the quality of life for students, returning incarcerated citizens and veterans, as well as workforce training and safety net support for families in need.
Monique Anderson-Walker, the first African-American woman to be elected to Prince George’s County, MD Council, District 8, has a longstanding commitment to positively impacting the quality of life of her residents through education and workforce initiatives; public safety and transportation; community resources and programs; as well as infrastructure improvements such as sewer and storm water.
Anderson-Walker has led noteworthy economic development initiatives and facilitated meaningful career paths focused on technology and innovation. This includes partnering with the Global Air Drone Academy to establish The S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) camp, a free drone program in which the students learn the rules of drone construction, piloting, coding and can gain drone pilot licenses. Joint Base Andrews Command and the Intelligence Community’s (IC) have supported the program with access to Joint Base Andrews SPARKX Center, a renowned incubator, as well as IC-led seminars. This outstanding coalition also provides internship and career opportunities for some of the teens in District 8.
As Vice-Chair of the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment (TIEE) committee and member of Transportation Planning Board sub-committee at Council of Governments (2019-2020), Anderson-Walker advocated for the prioritization of transit to connect National Landing in Arlington, VA (Amazon HQ) to major travel arteries in Prince George’s County – enabling business retention, growth, expansion and attraction. Focusing on intra-county connectivity – transporting commuters over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Prince George’s County, extending to Oxon Hill and Allentown Roads — creates viability for transit LIVE, WORK, PLAY hubs.
The alarming devastation related to roadway fatalities involving vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists have led Anderson-Walker to develop the #DrivingItHome Campaign. Launched in February 2019 in area high schools, the #DrivingItHome focuses on changing driving culture and saving lives. The popularity of the program led to its expansion beyond District 8, growing regionally into Montgomery County, MD; Washington, DC; and Fairfax County, VA. Four months after the #DrivingIthome initiative was launched as a pilot program in District 8, Prince George’s County established its Vision Zero initiative to reduce roadway fatalities to zero by 2040 – for which Anderson-Walker received the Washington Area Bike Association (WABA) Vision Zero Award in 2020.
Additionally, having successfully negotiated to bring several healthcare service-related entities to Prince George’s County, as a commercial real estate broker, Anderson-Walker is focusing on maximizing hospitality with exceptional healthcare that is unique to this region. The initiated study to establish a “Destination Wellness” economy is aiming to take market share of anticipated $40 billion to be spent, nationally, on medical tourism by 2025. This healthcare-focused economy is ripe for success, benefiting from the plethora of physicians, healthcare entities, teaching hospitals and exceptional hospitality, which is enhanced by our wellness-focused living, and natural resources — including our extensive tree canopy, scenic rivers, hike and bike trails.
Anderson-Walker’s social initiatives include the WOW Factor, a platform that takes a holistic look at mental health self-care, physical and financial wellness. Her “Get Active, Stay Healthy” event held in 2019 was designed to provide District 8 seniors with resources and an outlet to socialize and to “keep moving” as they age. She also is responsible for initiating programs that support and recognize caregivers and grandparents who are taking care of the elderly and rearing future generations of young people. Since 2019, she has hosted Domestic Violence “Bystander” in-person and virtual symposiums that address anger management, gun violence, domestic violence, and sex trafficking. And, the Councilwoman has also focused on mental health initiatives for students during COVID-19 — hosting virtual townhalls to address their anxieties and to learn coping exercises from psychologists.
Among her other accomplishments, Councilwoman Anderson-Walker has also supported policies aimed at increasing tree canopy coverage county-wide, storm water management studies and best practices, public safety investments, twice-per week trash collection, tax credit exemptions for service-connected veterans, and increasing our building design standards for universal living. Since 2018, Prince George’s County has received more than 2,400 calls related to flooding and storm water management issues, thus emphasizing the importance of a flooding study for the County, which led to the presentation and passage of Council Resolution 29-2021, directing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct an updated flood study. Finally, as the United States sees record investment in green infrastructure, Councilwoman Anderson-Walker is working toward establishing Prince George’s County’s first Green Bank to bring green energy infrastructure benefits back to our residents and minority-owned businesses.
After nearly 20 years in real estate, in 2016, Councilwoman Anderson-Walker founded Fleur de Lis, L.L.C., a commercial real estate brokerage firm headquartered in the National Harbor. She has a long history of community service and is a member of The Prince George’s County, MD Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. She is the co-chair and implementer co-developer (2008) of Links at the Legislature, collaborating with members of the Maryland General Assembly, thought leaders, and faith-based and nonprofits to assist in crafting and advocating for Bills to improve the Health and Education of Children. The years of advocacy has yielded 25 House and Senate Bills being passed into law.
Anderson-Walker holds an M.S. degree in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University; an M.A. degree in Political Science from Howard University; and a B. A. degree in International Studies from Emory University. She is a life-long Prince George’s County resident, where she and her husband, Maryland State Delegate Jay Walker, raised their children – Jasmine, Jeannine and Jewel.
