Barbara Mariani

Barbara Mariani was born in Rome, Italy and immigrated to the United States when she was five years old.  At age nine, she was naturalized through her mother and became an American citizen.  English is her second language and she currently has family in Italy and France.

Barbara attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Philosophy while running cross-country and track for the Razorbacks.  She still enjoys running in addition to cycling and swimming.

In 1993 she entered law school at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville, graduated, passed the Arkansas bar and began her legal career in Fort Smith, Arkansas.  In 1997, she moved to Little Rock and became a deputy prosecutor for the Pulaski County Prosecutor’s Office.  She currently holds the position of Senior Deputy Prosecutor and supervises two juvenile criminal courts, two adult criminal courts and the drug unit.  Additionally she carries a full time homicide caseload.  The thing she loves most about her job is helping and empowering victims of violent crime and their families.  Through her many years of prosecuting cases, she has come to understand that it is important to view cases from multiple perspectives and how crucial it is to be able to see the overall picture in order to determine what justice is for everyone involved.

Barbara is passionate about combating domestic violence in Arkansas and is currently on the board of the Arkansas Coalition of Domestic Violence, which focuses on providing support for the domestic violence shelters and domestic violence victims in Arkansas.  As a board member, she has drafted and helped pass bipartisan bills into law to help fund domestic violence shelters and empower victims of domestic violence.

In addition to being on the Arkansas Coalition of Domestic Violence, she was also on the board of Central Arkansas Velo that promotes cycling in central Arkansas and the vice president of the Stonewall Democratic Caucus of Arkansas.  She also has been appointed to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, which is dedicated to improving our criminal justice system in Arkansas.

Barbara believes in equality and strives to find ways to empower her LGBTQ+ community through political engagement.  She is the proud spouse of Minority Leader Tippi McCullough, the only openly gay elected legislator currently in the Arkansas Legislature.  She wants to see much more minority representation in our State government and has a drive to work to make that happen.