The Governor's Office for Children serves as a central coordinating office to support the well-being of children and families and reduce the number of children living in poverty, which requires a holistic, coordinated approach within state government and across public and private sectors at the federal, state, and local levels. The Governor's Office for Children leads statewide efforts to build a comprehensive and efficient network of supports, programs, and services for children and their families in order to promote social and emotional well-being, reduce food insecurity, combat youth homelessness, expand access to health services, improve educational outcomes and job readiness, expand access to good jobs, and increase economic opportunity in sustainable ways in jurisdictions that historically have experienced underinvestment.
Carmel Martin
Special Secretary
https://goc.maryland.gov
Carmel Martin is the Special Secretary leading the Governor's Office for Children and a Senior Advisor to the Governor for Economic Mobility. She chairs the Governor's Children's Cabinet, works to improve services to support Maryland's children and families, and drives policy action to reduce child poverty, including leading implementation of the Governor's ENOUGH initiative focusing on neighborhoods with the highest concentration of poverty across the state.
Prior to this role, Martin held various appointments in the Biden-Harris Administration including Domestic Policy Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris, Deputy Director at the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Mobility. Martin also served in the Obama Administration as the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Budget at the U.S. Department of Education.
Martin was one of the founding staff members at the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C., where she subsequently served as Executive Vice President leading teams spanning across domestic, economic, climate and national security policy. She also worked in the United States Senate focused on legislation tackling education, workforce, economic, and healthcare issues.
Martin began her career as a civil rights lawyer in private practice and at the United States Department of Justice.
Secretary Martin believes in bridging the gap between policy and community by building coalitions across sectors to uplift children and families and to eradicate child poverty.