State senator since 2019 and deputy majority whip. Hester has represented District 9 in the Maryland Senate since 2019 and was appointed deputy majority whip in 2023
- Chairs cybersecurity and serves on education committees. She chairs the Joint Committee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology & Biotechnology and sits on the Senate’s Education, Energy & Environment Committee
- Leads work groups and cross‑agency councils. Hester co‑chairs the Senate Democratic Caucus’s 21st‑Century Economy work group and serves on the Water Management & Chesapeake Bay Program subcommittee and other joint committees on children, youth and homelessness.
- Primary sponsor of SB0906 (2025) on artificial intelligence in education. Her bill requires the State Department of Education to develop AI guidance and an approved list of AI tools for county school boards.
- Co‑sponsor of SB0130 and SB0378. Hester helped pass legislation requiring guidelines for student personal device use and creating a family literacy pilot program that lets incarcerated parents record books for their children.
- Co‑sponsor of SB1058 (Educate to Stop the Hate Act). She joined colleagues in mandating anti‑hate and Holocaust curriculum standards and authorizing the State Board to withhold funds from noncompliant county boards.