Full Biography

Terri A. Sewell is the U.S. Representative for the 7th District of Alabama. The 7th Congressional District includes parts of the cities of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, as well as the counties of Alabama’s Black Belt – the heart of which is Congresswoman Sewell’s hometown of Selma.

Re-elected on November 6, 2012 to her second term, Congresswoman Sewell is one of the first women elected to Congress from Alabama in her own right. She is also the first black woman to ever serve in the Alabama Congressional delegation.

Congresswoman Sewell sits on the House Financial Services Committee and brings to the committee her more than 15 years of experience as a public finance attorney. She also serves as a Chief Deputy Whip for the Democratic Caucus.

Prior to her election to Congress, Congresswoman Sewell was a partner in the Birmingham law office of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. where she distinguished herself as one of the only black public finance lawyers in the State of Alabama. Her clients included, among others, City of Selma, Dallas County Water Authority, Alabama State University, Stillman College, Jefferson State and Wallace State-Hanceville.

Congresswoman Sewell is the daughter of retired Coach Andrew A. Sewell and retired librarian Nancy Gardner Sewell, the first black City Councilwoman in Selma, Alabama.