Magdalena Acevedo, Esq., has been a practicing attorney for eighteen years, with the last eleven years as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. From 2001 through 2007, Ms. Acevedo served as an active duty Army Judge Advocate.  In 2003, Ms. Acevedo deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where she provided legal advice on the law of war, including the rules of engagement. She also managed criminal justice matters for the unit's 37,000 soldiers, and traveled throughout the country to meet with judges and help reestablish the rule of law and reopen the local courts. Her military awards and commendations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal.

In 2004, the Army transferred Ms. Acevedo to the Washington, DC area to work on criminal appeals before the Army Court of Criminal Appeals and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Since leaving active duty honorably in 2008, Ms. Acevedo has served as an AUSA, representing the United States in criminal matters in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. Acevedo volunteers as a guardian ad litem through the District of Columbia Volunteer Lawyers Project and was named the 2016 Government Volunteer of the Year.

Ms. Acevedo was born in Warsaw, Poland. She emigrated to the United States in 1986 and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Ms. Acevedo received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University and a Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University School of Law­Bloomington.  Ms. Acevedo and her husband Gabriel, a native Washingtonian, have lived in their Petworth home since 2004.They are proud foster parents.