Foster, Griffin, Perez, Richardson and Wilson to Protect Maryland's Environment and Families
ANNAPOLIS - Governor Martin O'Malley today officially swore in five cabinet secretaries: T. Eloise Foster (Department of Budget and Management), John R. Griffin (Department of Natural Resources), Thomas E. Perez (Department of Licensing, Labor, and Regulation), Roger L. Richardson (Department of Agriculture), and Shari T. Wilson (Department of the Environment). To date, Governor O'Malley has sworn in 13 members of his cabinet.
"I am proud to officially swear in Eloise Foster, John Griffin, Tom Perez, Roger Richardson, and Shari Wilson as the newest additions to Maryland's cabinet," said Governor O'Malley. "Under their leadership, our state will make the tough choices to protect Maryland's families and environment, and I look forward to working with them over the next four years."
T. Eloise Foster is an accomplished senior executive and proven leader with over three decades of experience in Maryland state government, higher education, and fiscal management. In 2000, she was appointed Secretary of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management under Governor Glendening, and as the Assistant Dean for Business Affairs and Program Development at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine.
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. 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. 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.
John Griffin most recently worked as an Associate Vice-President for the Maryland/Virginia region at Buchart Horn, Inc., a private engineering, architectural, and planning firm providing a full range of consulting services including environmental. Griffin served as General Manager of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission for five years, and has sixteen years of experience in the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, including five years as Secretary and eleven years as Deputy Secretary.
Griffin received his B.A. from Niagara University and received his M.A. from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He currently serves his community as Vice-President for the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, as Chair of Scenic Maryland, and a Board member of the Annapolis Community Foundation. Griffin resides in Annapolis with his wife and family including five children.
Thomas Perez served as a member of the Montgomery County Council, and as its President from December 2004-December 2005. A nationally-recognized civil rights lawyer, health lawyer, and consumer advocate, Perez is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Law School. Previously, Perez was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the U. S. Department of Justice.
Perez received his B.A. from Brown University, his M.P.P. from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. Perez is an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership, and a member of both the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, and the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Health Professions. Perez lives in Montgomery County with his wife and three children.
Roger Richardson is a 6th generation Maryland farmer, with experience working 3,500 acres of land on Maryland's Eastern Shore. He also has a private trucking company devoted to the transportation of agricultural products. He has served as President of the National Association of Farmer Elected Committees, Director of the American Corn Growers Association, Chairman of the Board of Review for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, and as president of the Snow Hill Grain co-op.
Furthermore, Richardson is a member of the Agricultural Stewardship Commission, the Board of Directors for the Maryland Center for Agro-Ecology, and the Worcester County Farmland Committee. Formerly, Richardson was a Presidential appointee as Chairman of the Maryland Farm Service Committee, a State Committee member of the Maryland Agricultural Stabilization Committee, and Supervisor of the Worcester County Soil Conservation District. Richardson was born in Worcester County, and currently lives in Eden, MD with his wife Fay. He has two daughters, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
Shari Wilson was most recently a chief solicitor for the Land Use Division of the Baltimore City Department of Law and represents the city in environmental, land use, and zoning cases, and has served as a Division Chief in the Baltimore City Department of Planning. She is currently an Adjunct Instructor at the Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering.
Previously, Wilson was Director of Policy Management at the Maryland Department of the Environment, Program Director for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and an Assistant Attorney General focusing on civil enforcement and cost recovery in environmental pollution cases. Wilson has received degrees from the University of Richmond, the University of Virginia, and the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Source: Gov. O'Malley's Office