ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today announced the appointment of Jonny Dorsey as acting secretary of the Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation and senior advisor to the governor, effective November 12.
“Jonny has been the driving force behind many of my most important initiatives,”
said Gov. Moore. “He helped design and launch four new executive offices and departments, including the Department of Service and Civic Innovation, which he will now lead. He forged partnerships that delivered more than $100 million in new resources to Maryland, and guided key policy efforts making a difference for our communities. Throughout, he has stewarded impact, innovation, and improvement across eleven agencies and issues representing two-thirds of the state budget. Jonny’s leadership, creativity, and commitment have been central to our progress, and I am confident he will advance this department’s mission. I am also grateful he will continue to lead cross-government partnerships, strategic initiatives, and other crucial efforts as a Senior Advisor.”
“I am honored and excited the governor has given me this additional opportunity to serve,”
said Deputy Chief of Staff Jonny Dorsey. “I believe deeply that, as the governor says, service will save us. Together with colleagues at DSCI, the governor’s office and administration, partners across all sectors of society and, above all, with dedicated Marylanders raising their hand to help their communities, we are all going to deliver on that promise.”
Gov. Moore also expressed gratitude to outgoing Secretary Paul Monteiro, who has served as the department’s first secretary since its founding.
“I want to thank Paul Monteiro for his historic service to the state,”
said Gov. Moore. “He took an idea and turned it into a statewide movement. As the department’s founding secretary, his work has built a foundation that will serve generations of Marylanders. Paul has worked tirelessly in pursuit of this mission – at a time when we so badly need this unifying work. I am immensely grateful for his leadership.”
Dorsey has served as deputy chief of staff since January 2023 and took on the additional role of senior advisor for innovation and impact in May 2023. Before joining the Moore-Miller Administration, he served as director for innovation and policy at Emerson Collective, as a White House Fellow in the Obama Administration, and co-founded Global Health Corps and FACE AIDS.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, where he served as student body president, a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
###