Secretary-nominee to oversee $28 billion budget; Close a $6 billion structural deficit
BALTIMORE – Governor-elect Martin O’Malley announced today that he will nominate Ms. T. Eloise Foster to serve as Secretary for the Maryland Department of Budget and Management. In her capacity as Budget Secretary, Ms. Foster will oversee a $28 billion state budget, including historic funding levels for public education and school construction, and help Maryland close a $6 billion structural deficit over the next four years.
“There are few people who have a better understanding and a deeper knowledge of our state government and the challenges we face than T. Eloise Foster,” said Governor-elect Martin O’Malley. “As we prepare to make the structural reforms necessary to make our state government more accountable and close a $6 billion structural deficit, there is no one better suited than Ms. Foster to oversee those critical investments to improve our quality of life and restore Maryland’s fiscal health.”
Ms. Foster is an accomplished senior executive and proven leader with over three decades of experience in Maryland state government, higher education, and fiscal management. Ms. Foster became the first African-American woman to serve as the chief budget officer of a state, having been appointed in 2000 the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management.
She is currently serving as Chair of the O’Malley-Brown Transition Budget working group and serving as Governor-elect O’Malley’s chief advisor on budget issues. O’Malley will introduce the FY ’08 state budget on January 19, 2007, just two days after his Inauguration.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to return to state government under the leadership of Martin O’Malley,” said Foster. “We have a tremendous opportunity to make critical investments in public education and transportation, and at the same time tremendous challenges to restore fiscal accountability to our state and close a significant budget deficit.”
In her capacity as Budget Secretary, Ms. Foster will serve as the chief fiscal advisor to the governor and the chief executive of the department responsible for the development and management of budget, personnel, and information technology systems for the State of Maryland.
Ms. Foster has previously served as Budget Secretary under Governor Glendening, and Assistant Dean for Business Affairs and Program Development at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine. In this capacity, she managed budgets, contracts and grants, and oversaw outreach activities and information technology initiatives.
Foster has served on a number of key boards and commissions including the Governor’s Commission on the Structure and Efficiency of State Government (known as the Mandel Commission), the State Planning Committee for Post-Secondary Education, and the Maryland pension and supplemental retirement boards. She currently sits on the board of the College Savings Plans of Maryland.
Among her professional affiliations is an honorary lifetime membership in the National Association of State Budget Officers. She has held memberships in the National Forum for Black Administrators and National Black MBA Association.
Ms. Foster holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Howard University and a Master of Business Administration degree from American University, and she has completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University.
Source: O'Malley Transition Team