John Amara Walters’ desk was always the place to be in Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s office suite. It was right by the water cooler, so staffers could gather and joke about the day.
More important, it was where they could spend time with John, a legislative aide adored by his colleagues for his empathy and positivity.
“Anybody that you talk to about John will talk about his laugh. He had this amazing, loud kind of a giggle of a laugh, which was really wonderful,” said legislative director Sarah Schenning, a longtime staffer. She remembers him starting as an intern back in 2015, when their boss was still a member of the House.
