Leach to Manage City Government Operations

BALTIMORE, MD. (Tuesday, January 17, 2023) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced the appointment of Faith Leach to serve as Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Baltimore. In her role, Leach will manage the day-to-day operations of city government, ensuring the effective, efficient and equitable delivery of city services.

"I am thrilled to announce Faith Leach as my Chief Administrative Officer," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "Faith has proven herself to be a transformational leader and I look forward to seeing her excel in this new role so that we can continue to advance our work to improve City services, promote equity throughout City government, and enhance the wellbeing of our residents."

In her current role as Deputy Mayor, Faith provided strategic direction and oversight to a portfolio of agencies at the forefront of quality-of-life issues, including Immigrant Affairs, LGBTQ Affairs, social services, Recreation and Parks, Homeless Services, Library Services, and the City's COVID-19 public health response. Faith briefly served as Interim Director of the Mayor's Office of Children and Family Success where she led key initiatives including:

• Launching Baltimore's first guaranteed income pilot, providing 200 young parents with $1,000 direct cash payments monthly.

• Providing oversight to the City's eviction prevention program - expending more than $90M to assist more than 11,000 households in need of rental assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Launched the Water4All water assistance program in partnership with the Department of Public Works.
• Partnered with Baltimore's Promise and Baltimore City School's to pass legislation to establish the Baltimore Youth Datahub.
• Developed a cross-agency working group focused on expanding summer opportunities for youth; and launched the B'More Summer Information Hub.
• Secured a $20million commitment from JPMorgan Chase to close the racial wealth divide in Baltimore, including a $5M Advancing Cities grant to support Black and Latina women developers in West Baltimore via the POWER Collaborative.
• Coordinated business, philanthropic, community and youth leaders to develop a comprehensive strategy to tackle the root causes of squeegeeing in Baltimore.

Shelonda Stokes, CEO of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore said, "I've had the privilege of experiencing Faith's leadership style first-hand. She strikes a balance of fearlessly addressing the inequities and realities that exist here in Baltimore City, while also offering solutions that benefit the business community. The lens in which she operates is thoughtful and holistic, and I am certain that as Chief Administrative Officer, she will continue to lead authentically in support of all constituents."

"We need leaders who believe in the best of Baltimore, who are committed to the success of the entire city, and who understand what we are capable of accomplishing when we work together to achieve it,” said Brian Pieninck, President and CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. "I believe Faith is that type of leader and as she prepares to become Baltimore’s next City Administrator, I look forward to continuing to partner with her to the benefit of our shared communities."

"The strength of a city lies in its leadership. Over the course of her career - in both the public and private sectors - Faith has exemplified the vision and relentless determination that's needed to create a stronger, more equitable Baltimore. She has always been on the frontlines of this work, and we continue to cheer her on as she takes on a new role as the city's Chief Administrative Officer," said Peter Scher, Vice Chairman, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Leach previously served as Chief of Staff at the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation. In her role, she oversaw the Foundation's commitment to invest $2 billion over 5 years to strengthen workforce systems, revitalize neighborhoods, grow small businesses, and improve the financial health of vulnerable communities across the globe. She was instrumental in the development and deployment of the firm's $200M commitment to address the profound economic and public health challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in the development of JPMorgan's $30 billion commitment to advance racial equity.

Leach has spent more than 16 years working to address the key drivers of economic inequality that fuel the racial wealth divide. Prior to her time at JPMorgan Chase & Co., she served as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity under DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. Leach stood up a first-of-its-kind government agency focused on cutting across silos and building sustainable systems to address the challenges faced by residents in overlooked and underserved neighborhoods across Washington, DC.

In DC she oversaw a cluster of agencies critical to expanding economic opportunity in the District, including the Department of Employment Services, the Department of Small and Local Business Development, the Workforce Investment Council and the Office of African American Affairs. While in the Mayor's office, she led a multi-agency approach to violence prevention, led the Deputy Mayor for Education's cross-agency efforts to reduce truancy and, worked in the DC City Administrator's Office, building the District's performance management system.

Leach also served in the Office of the State Superintendent of Education in Washington, DC, the Office of Management and Budget in Mecklenburg County, NC and in the City of Durham's Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

"Mayor Scott could not have made a better appointment than Faith Leach for the Chief Administrative Officer for Baltimore. Faith has always demonstrated the highest integrity, strategic problem-solving, and excellence in execution and implementation. I am looking forward to seeing Faith continue to support Mayor Scott in transforming city government operations in Baltimore," said Clarence Anthony, CEO & Executive Director, National League of Cities.

Leach earned her M.P.A. from North Carolina Central University and a B.A. in Communication from North Carolina State University. She also earned a Certificate for Emerging Government Leaders from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

As City Administrator, Leach must be confirmed by the City Council before she assumes her new role.