Biography
Mary Pat Donnelly has served as Rensselaer County District Attorney (DA) since January 2019. Prior to her election, DA Donnelly was employed for over 20 years by the Office of Court Administration as an Associate Court Attorney in Albany City Court. From 2006 until 2012, DA Donnelly was also counsel to the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Town of East Greenbush. In November 2012, DA Donnelly was elected Judge of the East Greenbush Town Court. She presided over thousands of cases before resigning to commence her successful run for District Attorney.
DA Donnelly is a 1997 graduate of Albany Law School. Immediately after law school, she was admitted to practice in the State of Vermont and served as a Deputy State's Attorney for Bennington County before her return to New York State.
Family & Community Service
Mary Pat Donnelly is married to Patrick Donnelly, who retired as Detective Sergeant from the Albany Police Department in 2020. Their five children are students in the East Greenbush Central School District. DA Donnelly is active in her community, as a volunteer with the East Greenbush Central School District, as a teacher of Faith Formation at St. Mary's of Clinton Heights and formerly as Public Relations Director of the East Greenbush Girls Softball League.
Awards & Accomplishments
Mary Pat Donnelly is also a founding member of the Timothy J. Murphy Foundation, named in honor of her late father. Since 2006, the Foundation has awarded over $200,000 in college scholarships to children and grandchildren of first responders.
In 2015, DA Donnelly was recognized by the East Greenbush Central School District for her accomplishments and commitment to community service by her induction into the Columbia High School Hall of Fame. Last year, in the second year of her first term, DA Donnelly was honored with an appointment to the Board of Directors of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, after being nominated and confirmed by her fellow District Attorneys from around the state.