Born in 1953, Ms. Andrea L. Turner was born and raised in Lumberton, North Carolina, and grew up with mother and father, Georgia and Eugene Turner, and a younger sister. Though Ms. Turner moved from school to school in middle school, she attended elementary and high school in Lumberton. She then went to Shaw University in Raleigh, NC (1971-1975), before moving to Carbondale, Illinois, to attend graduate school at Southern Illinois University (1976-1977), earning a master’s degree in public affairs. On April 28, 1977, at age 24, Ms. Turner moved to Washington, DC, for a four-month congressional internship, but she would end up working Congress for 18 years and staying in D.C. for good. Ms. Turner worked on the staff of Representative Charles “Charlie” Rose, III, with her last position being chief of staff. After Rose retired from the House (1995), Ms. Turner went on to work at the Small Business Administration as an assistant administrator for Native American Affairs for the next 15 years. After 33 years of government service, Ms. Turner is now retired. While in DC, Ms. Turner built a life with Gerald Scott, and they were married from 1980-1995. She gave birth to two boys and named them after her father and her husband: Eugene (1981) and Gerald (1985). She is currently living her best life watching game shows and hanging out with her granddaughter.