Duchy Trachtenberg
Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, Maryland 20850
(240) 777-7964
e-mail: Councilmember.trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov

Biography

Councilmember Trachtenberg (D-At Large) was elected to the Montgomery County Council in 2006.  She is Chair of the Management and Fiscal Policy (MFP) Committee, which has jurisdiction over economic and fiscal policy; spending affordability; County Government administrative departments; cable and telecommunications issues; technology issues; personnel and compensation issues; procurement policy and other matters.  Councilmember Trachtenberg also serves on the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee.

As MFP Chair, Councilmember Trachtenberg has a particular responsibility for stewardship of the County’s fiscal health.  She has made community needs and results-based practices the foundation of her effort to put people first as decisions are made over spending and government priorities.  She guides the yearly budget-making process to ensure the protection of the County’s long-term stability and the funding of essential priorities, with transparency, equity and fiscal responsibility.
As the only Councilmember trained as a public health professional, Councilmember Trachtenberg has a special interest in the delivery of health and addiction treatment services, services for victims of domestic violence and their families, health and wellness policies and family justice. Her landmark regulation prohibiting the use of artificial trans fats in Montgomery County restaurants was the first such action in the United States adopted on a county level. 

Councilmember Trachtenberg has led the effort to reform the County’s disability retirement to preserve the critical disability retirement benefit and protect employee access to best medical practices; broaden coverage for workers with varying degrees of disability; and ensure that disability retirement procedures are based on a sound public health foundation.  
Councilmember Trachtenberg holds a Masters Degree in Social Work, and maintained a private practice specializing in adolescent addiction prior to being elected to office. She is a past Governing Councilor and Chair of the Alternative Medicine Section within the American Public Health Association (APHA). Ms. Trachtenberg helped develop a state-wide Court Watch program which has earned recognition in the domestic violence advocacy community.

From the outset of her term on the County Council, Councilmember Trachtenberg has advocated for a Family Justice Center to bring a coordinated effective means of responding to the victims of domestic violence. The basis of the Family Justice Center is a one-stop-shop approach to responding to domestic violence, eliminating the burden on victims to travel, frequently on poorly scheduled buses, to offices throughout the County for different services, which can take days or even weeks to fully engage. 

Councilmember Trachtenberg convened a series of exploratory meetings, discussions and planning sessions with County officials including Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and Sheriff Raymond M. Kight to develop protocols for launching the project.  Trachtenberg coordinated cooperation with agencies including the Department of Police, the County Sheriff’s Office, Child Protective Services, the Commission for Women, the State’s Attorney’s Office, Child Welfare Services and others. The Family Justice Center was funded in the County Executive’s FY09 budget and will open in the spring of 2009.

Councilmember Trachtenberg had been an effective grassroots activist for over twenty years on women's equality, mental health concerns and public health issues. She offers a strong track record of successful community networking and believes building coalitions is an effective tool in bringing about political reform.

 Her dynamic leadership style reflects her genuine commitment to full equality for all women and she sat for six years as a Progressive MD board member.  During the 2008 presidential election she traveled as a campaign surrogate for Barack Obama and served on presidential transition task forces on mental health and women’s issues.

Ms. Trachtenberg is the past co-chair (founding) of the Women's Leadership Network of the Maryland Democratic Party. She also served as a Women's Issues Advisor for the Dean Presidential Campaign in 2003-2004.

Councilmember Trachtenberg has been honored with the “Heroes” award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) of Montgomery County and the “Ally for Equality” Award from Equality Maryland.

She lives with her husband, Dr. Alan Trachtenberg, in North Bethesda.