Gov. Moore swears in Maryland adjutant general and first secretary of civic innovation department
BALTIMORE -- Gov. Wes Moore has sworn in two key members of his state government—and both of them are poised to make history.
Paul Monteiro was sworn in as the Secretary of the Department of Service and Civic Innovation. Monteiro will be the first secretary of the newly created department. Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Janeen Birckhead was sworn in as the adjutant general of Maryland and will serve as the only Black woman leading a state military in the United States.
The two nominees were sworn in on Thursday.
Moore nominated Monteiro for the position on April 3. He said he expects Monteiro to "be a model for the young people who raise their hands and participate in Maryland's first-in-the-nation service-year program."
"Paul is a public servant who has spent his life giving back to our communities," Moore said in a statement. "Throughout his career, he has earned a reputation as not only someone who knows how to lead, but as someone who knows how to listen. The Department of Service and Civic Innovation will be the home of Maryland's legacy-defining service-year program, and it's going to be the place from which so many best practices in civic innovation will be launched."
Moore signed an executive order creating the Department of Service and Civic Innovation on his first full day in office, according to state officials.
The department will be home to Maryland's Service Year Option, a program that gives high school graduates the opportunity to get paid for learning skills and serving the state, officials said.
Birckhead will fill a pivotal role, too. As the commander of the Maryland Army National Guard, she has experience overseeing 4,600 soldiers, 1,500 types of combat weapons, and ensures that Maryland's national guard is prepared for action, state officials said.
During the outbreak of the coronavirus, she served as former Gov. Larry Hogan's head of the statewide COVID-19 Maryland Equity Task Force and helped establish more than 11 mass vaccination sites, according to state officials.
She was able to mobilize more than 1,500 soldiers and have them assist with COVID-19 efforts in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, state officials said.
In the second phase of COVID-19, she developed and integrated a planning team with the Maryland Department of Health for vaccine distribution, enabling support teams to deliver nearly 5,000 vaccine shots per week within the first two weeks of January 2021, according to state officials.
"Adjutant General Birckhead embodies the values of courage, determination, empathy, and respect," Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said in a statement. "She has gone above and beyond the duties of every job she's had, whether it's saving lives by ensuring the equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, or leading the Maryland National Guard's first all-female command team. Her determination and commitment to making our state better for the people it serves has done exactly that."