Heather S. DeWees is the first elected female Clerk of Circuit Court for Carroll County and is in her second term. Since taking office in 2018, she has implemented various policies to ensure that each person who is served by the Clerk’s Office receives professional, safe, accurate & courteous access to justice.
Clerk DeWees currently serves as President of the Maryland Circuit Court Clerks’ Association and is a member of the of Maryland Judiciary’s Technology Committee, Non-Case Record Subcommittee, Education Committee, Professional Development Subcommittee, Land Records Professional Development Workgroup, and Judiciary Security Taskforce Workgroup. She serves as an Instructor for the Institute for Court Management Certification Program (ICM) teaching Educational Development, Purposes & Responsibilities of the Courts, and Leadership to Judiciary employees.
Heather was raised in Rivesville, West Virginia and she is a graduate of Fairmont Senior High School. She received a full scholarship to Mount St. Mary’s University, Maryland where she played Women’s Division I Basketball and received her Bachelor of Arts in History and Spanish as well as a minor in Theology.
Clerk DeWees graduated Summa Cum Laude in the Top 10 of her class, was recognized as the Top History Student for the Class of 1995, was selected as an NCAA Academic All-American, earned 1st Team All -Northeast Conference, and was elected to the Mount St. Mary’s Athletic Hall of Fame. She is the ESPN Live Stream Color Commentator for all Mount Women’s Basketball home games.
Heather is also a graduate of Wake Forest University Graduate School where she earned a Master Teacher Fellowship and a Master of Arts Degree in Secondary Education. Serving as a high school social studies teacher in Baltimore and Carroll Counties prior to be elected, she has also coached high school girls’ varsity basketball for over 25 years and has been the Varsity Girls’ Basketball Coach at Manchester Valley High School since its opening in 2009.
Clerk DeWees was recognized by the Girls on the Run of Central Maryland as a “SHEroe”, for her empowering young women to turn their barriers into opportunities.
She resides in Westminster with her husband, James T. DeWees – the Sheriff of Carroll County, and has three children: Mackenzie, Brett & Gavin.