image description

Md. Gov.-elect Moore nominates 6 department heads, including secretary of the Department of Health

January 13th, 2023 by WCBC Radio

Maryland Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) has named six more department heads to his cabinet,with an eye toward making it the most diverse collection of top state officials ever. Moore, who is scheduled to be sworn into office Wednesday, announced the appointments of the secretaries of health, labor, human services, general services and juvenile services, with four out of the six being people of color and one of them an openly gay man. All of the appointees have some sort of government work experience. Moore named Dr. Laura Herrera Scott, a former state public health deputy secretary, to head the Department of Health; Portia Wu, managing director of U.S. Public Policy for Microsoft Corp., to lead the Labor Department; Rafael J. López, senior advisor to the federal Administration for Children and Families, to head the Human Services Department; Atif T. Chaudhry, deputy secretary for operations at the state Health Department, to head the Department of General Services; Anthony C. “Tony” Woods, a West Point graduate who did two tours of duty in Iraq, where he was awarded the bronze star, to lead the Veterans Affairs Department; and Vincent N. Schiraldi, a nationally recognized criminal justice and prison reformer, to head the Juvenile Services Department