Janeese Lewis George

Janeese Lewis George is honored to serve as the DC Councilmember for Ward 4. George is a third generation Washingtonian and native of Ward 4. Growing up in a working-class family George learned early on the importance of family, hard work, education and public service.

George is a proud graduate of DC Public Schools. She attended Cuno H. Rudolph Elementary School in her community, then enrolled in Alice Deal Middle School in Friendship Heights, and graduated high school from School Without Walls. As a high school student, she served as a member of her neighborhood’s DC Youth Advisory Council, a Student Representative on the DC School Board of Education, and as Youth Mayor for YMCA DC Youth & Government. George went on to study at St. John’s University where she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Government & Politics. She then completed a year of service providing critical academic support to underserved students in Los Angeles as an Americorps City Year member.

Inspired to fight inequities head on, George returned home to receive her Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law. During this time, she served as an editor of the Human Rights & Globalization Law Review and as a member of the Trial Advocacy Team. In 2014, George began her legal career in public service working for Philadelphia’s first African-American District Attorney. She returned to the District to work for DC Attorney General Karl A. Racine as the Assistant Attorney General in the Juvenile Section of the Public Safety Division. There, she worked to advance juvenile justice reform by utilizing innovative, evidence-based practices and serving as an ambassador for the office’s “I Belong Here” and Human Trafficking Taskforce.

After being elected to the Council of the District of Columbia in 2020, George took office in January and is serving on the Committee for Transportation and the Environment, the Committee on Labor and Workforce, Committee on Human Services, the Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs, and the Special Committee on COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery. She was also appointed by the National League of Cities to serve on a task force of mayors and councilmembers from across the country on reimagine public safety.

George is an experienced attorney, civil servant, community activist, and a passionate leader who is focused on Ward 4’s future. She is a member of the Washington Bar Association and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.

George and her husband Kyle, reside in the Manor Park neighborhood of Ward 4 with their new puppy Sully. George loves spending time with her family, reading, and mentoring through the Frederick B. Abramson Scholarship Foundation.