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Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) book-ended his week with announcements of top staffers who would be joining his administration when he takes over on Jan. 18.
Moore on Friday named three deputy chiefs of staff and an assistant chief of staff. This comes on the heels of Monday’s announcement about his chief of staff, his chief legislative officer, his chief counsel, and his nominees for Budget secretary and Appointments secretary.
Appointed as deputy chiefs of staff: Jonny Dorsey, Shaina Hernandez and Lucinda Ware. Andy Parker will serve as assistant chief of staff.
“I am so pleased that these extremely talented individuals have chosen to join our administration,” Moore said in a statement. “To truly execute our mission of ‘leaving no one behind,’ we must recruit exceedingly capable leaders whose professional, and lived experiences, equip them to confront the issues that face our state.”
The new appointees have mixed experience in government, politics, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship.
Dorsey previously served as director of Innovation and Policy at Emerson Collective, a for-profit social good organization in Palo Alto, Calif., that focuses on education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health. Previously, Dorsey served as a White House Fellow during the Obama administration in the Department of Education.
Dorsey is also a co-founder FACE AIDS, a nonprofit that mobilized students in the fight for global health equity that was acquired by Partners In Health, and Global Health Corps, a group that recruits and places individuals with nonprofits to build health systems around the world. Dorsey serves as a trustee of Partners In Health and a Board Member of Plus1, which helps musicians and their fans support justice causes.
Hernandez will leave her post as senior policy adviser to Howard County Executive Calvin Ball (D), a position she has held since December 2018. Hernandez has led the development and implementation of the Ellicott City Safe and Sound plan, Ball’s plan to mitigate flooding in Historic Ellicott City, and worked to secure $167 million in federal, state, and local funding for projects in Ellicott City. She also served as a an expert on issues relating to emergency management, economic development and the environment.
Prior to joining the county executive’s staff, Hernandez served as director of Local Government Affairs and Strategic Initiatives for the Greater Baltimore Committee. She also held several roles in the office of former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), including special assistant to the chief of staff. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Creative Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the arts in Baltimore City, and the South Baltimore Learning Center.
Ware is a familiar figure in Maryland politics, serving most recently as a senior adviser to Moore’s campaign. In 2020, she was national political director for Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s presidential campaign. She has also been vice president of SWAY, a strategic and political communications firm.
Ware was political and outreach director for U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) during his first run for Senate in 2016, and served as the director of Civic Engagement under former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D). She was also special assistant to then-Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D) and was later his Intergovernmental Affairs aide, working with local and municipal leaders across the state. Ware has also worked at the ACLU as deputy director of Policy & Campaigns for the Democracy Division.
Parker is currently the general counsel and vice president of Advocacy at Baltimore Corps, the organization co-founded by Moore and his new chief of staff, Fagan Harris. that connects underestimated communities to social impact careers and supports emerging entrepreneurs.
Prior to joining Baltimore Corps, Parker worked in the Obama administration’s White House Office of Public Engagement. He later worked for President Obama’s 2012 campaign, served in the Department of Defense Operational Energy Office, managed state Sen. Shelly Hettleman’s first campaign, and coordinated legislative priorities for the ACLU of Washington State.
“Jonny, Shaina, Lucinda, and Andy bring extraordinary expertise from careers that span the public, private, and social sectors,” Harris said. “They are innovative, hard charging, and dynamic…Their diversity of professional, and lived, experience exemplifies the Moore-Miller administration’s approach to talent.”
Earlier this week, in addition to Harris, Moore named House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke (D-Montgomery) as chief legislative officer, Amanda La Forge as chief legal counsel, Tisha Edwards as secretary of Appointments, and Helene Grady as secretary of the Department of Budget and Management.
Moore and Lt. Gov.-elect Aruna Miller (D) on Thursday announced an expanded list of leaders for the incoming administration’s transition team.
