Catherine Irene Riley was a politician, lobbyist, and educator who represented Harford County in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1975-1982, and as a Senator in the Maryland General Assembly between 1982-1990. , then served on the Public Service Committee from 1999-2003.

Born March 21st, 1947, she grew up in Bel Air, Maryland where she attended Bel Air High School until 1965. She played field hockey while attending Towson State College, and graduated with a B.S. in Biology in 1969. Prior to winning a House seat in 1975, she worked in bacteriology at Baltimore City Hospital, now known as Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

While a Delegate, Riley served on several committees, including the Environmental Matters Committee; Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review; and, the Bi-State Committee on the Chesapeake Bay. She chaired the same committee in 1982, and also served as chair for the Joint Energy Committee. She advocated for laws that improved air quality, limited alcohol sales on Sunday, and preserved agriculture. She was an active member of the Women's Caucus and served on environmental and finance committees throughout her tenure.

In 1995, She joined the House Democracts Research Group, a lobbying group for the Maryland governor at the time, Parris Glendenning.

Glendenning than named Riley to serve on the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) in 1999. The PSC is the government body charged with overseeing public service companies such as utilities. She became the first female Chair of the PSC in 2000. One of, if not the biggest issue faced by the PSC during Sen. Riley's leadership was the fallout of federal deregulation of utilities resulting from the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the Federal Energy Regulation Commission's (FERC) Orders 888 and 889. Other pressing issues during this time included Constellation Energy Group's (CEG) attempt to split off the subsidiary Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE). Riley remained on the PSC until 2003.

Following her departure from the Senate in 1990, she taught public policy at University of Maryland, College Park and American University and would continue this work until 2010.

Catherine Riley passed away on September 30, 2024 at the age of 77.

"Catherine Riley." Wikipedia. Updated. 22 December 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Riley

Maryland State Archives. "Catherine I. Riley." Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series). Published 19 February 2025. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/012300/012330/html/12330bio.html

"Senator Catherine I. Riley Obituary." McComas Family Funeral Homes. https://www.mccomasfuneralhome.com/obituaries/senator-catherine-riley