Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has picked Paul Monteiro to be the state’s first secretary of service and civic innovation, tasked with leading one of the new governor’s signature initiatives.
Monteiro comes to state government from the U.S. Department of Justice, where he’s been director of community services. He also previously was national director of AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America and served on the Prince George’s County school board.
Monteiro told reporters Monday that he was influenced by mentors throughout his life, from teachers to pastors, who inspired his desire to serve. His family also “made it through some tough moments” with the help of social safety net programs such as school supply giveaways and reduced-price school lunches.
“Maryland has invested in me in countless ways,” Monteiro said. “I made it my goal to give back through public service.”
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The son of immigrants from Palau and Jamaica, Monteiro, 42, was the first in his family to attend college, graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park, and earning a law degree from Howard University, where he later worked as a chief of staff and assistant vice president.
Monteiro ran for Prince George’s County executive in 2018, finishing fourth in the Democratic primary behind eventual winner and current County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
Monteiro said the new department will be central “to cultivating our most important resource: the people of this great state.”
Moore, a Democrat, made community service a focus of his campaign and his early days of governance. On his first full day in office in January, the governor issued an executive order creating the Department of Service and Civic Innovation that Monteiro will lead.
The governor said a monthslong, national search for a service secretary led to finding a candidate who is a “gorgeous Prince Georgian.”
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“Paul is a problem-solver, he is a bridge builder, he is a peacemaker,” Moore said. “And if confirmed by the Senate, Paul will use those talents to build a state that serves.”
Moore proposed funding the service department with $14 million and 18 employees in his first budget. In addition to running the service year program, the department will also be responsible for the state’s participation in AmeriCorps and other service and volunteer programs. The existing Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism will be folded into the new department.
The department also would “test, measure, and evaluate innovations in civic engagement,” according to Moore’s proposed budget.
Since then, lawmakers have questioned who will lead the department, as Moore pushed for legislation to create a new community service program for young adults that would be housed within the department.
Moore’s promised “service year option” would offer young adults one year of paid work in nonprofits and government agencies. The program would be administered by the state, but the employers would pay the $15 per hour wage. The administration hopes to get the program up and running this year with 200 participating young people, growing to 2,000 in the next few years.
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Lawmakers are working out how the state would operate Moore’s service year program alongside existing service programs, such as Maryland Corps, which hasn’t fully launched.
They’re expected to pass a revised version of Moore’s bill creating the program — the “Serving Every Region Through Vocational Exploration Act” or “SERVE Act” — before the General Assembly session ends with the traditional sine die adjournment next Monday.
Cabinet secretaries are required to go through a confirmation vote in the Maryland Senate, and with just one week left in the current session session, Moore is hopeful that Monteiro will be confirmed. Monteiro planned to start meeting with senators right after the public announcement on Monday afternoon.
Monteiro, like all cabinet secretaries, would make a presentation to the Senate Executive Nominations Committee, followed by a vote in that committee and then a vote before the full 47-member Senate.
“This is going to be ASAP,” Moore said. “We plan on getting in front of this in front of Executive Noms as soon as possible, and we’re hoping to have confirmation complete by sine die.”
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