Meet the New Bosses

Serena McIlwain (L) ,Charlotte Katz (R)

Probably not the same as the old Bosses EPA veteran to lead Maryland's environment department, "Serena McIlwain, formerly a top official at EPA and the Department of Energy, is joining Maryland Gov.-elect Wes Moore's (D) Cabinet."

A former senior EPA official who served at the agency across administrations has been picked to be Maryland's next environment secretary.

On Tuesday, Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) announced several officials to serve in his Cabinet, including the appointment of Serena McIlwain to head the state's Department of the Environment.

In a statement, Moore said, "We continue to build a cabinet that reflects the state we are humbled to serve.

"These leaders bring with them great knowledge and deep expertise," Moore added. "This is going to be Maryland’s decade, and our team will lead with service in their hearts."

McIlwain comes to the job from California, where she had served as undersecretary of the state's environmental agency since 2019. Prior to that, she was with EPA, where she worked in agency headquarters and its San Francisco office.

McIlwain was assistant regional administrator for EPA Region 9 from 2014 to 2017. Then, she was the inaugural director of the agency's Office of Continuous Improvement in Washington, D.C.

"Office of Continuous Improvement"? Shouldn't all offices strive to continuously improve? Sounds like a make-work job to me.

Chesapeake Bay Mag, Bay Foundation Exec. Is Next Md. Secretary Of Natural Resources 

On Tuesday, Maryland Governor-elect Wes Moore appointed a new Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources ahead of the new governor’s Wednesday inauguration.

Maryland native Josh Kurtz will lead the department. He has been the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) Maryland Executive Director for the last two years.

Kurtz will take over the role from Sec. Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, who was appointed by outgoing Governor Larry Hogan in 2019.

The Crownsville, Anne Arundel County resident led CBF teams in Annapolis, Upper Marlboro, and Easton, Md., working to improve water quality. He led campaigns to plant more trees, conserve forested land, help farmers make environmental improvements, make cities greener, and ensure the state maintains sustainable fisheries.

Before his work at CBF, Kurtz served as policy and government relations director for The Nature Conservancy in Maryland, leading campaigns to conserve the environment and reduce climate change. He worked in Washington, D.C.’s first stormwater retention credit market, pioneering private finance projects, according to the Moore administration.

I'm afraid that with Wes Moore in office, MDE and DNR real action on the Bay's problems will take backseat to DEI and other woke initiatives, but we shall see, I suppose.