BALTIMORE, Md. - Maryland Governor-Elect Wes Moore has announced that he has appointed Senator Susan Lee as his Administration's Secretary of State, making Lee the first Asian-American to be in the position.
The Administration says that Lee has a several decade-long record of public service and will start with a wealth of experience at her disposal.
“Senator Susan Lee has been a force in Maryland for decades and I'm honored to have her join my Administration as Maryland’s next Secretary of State,” said Governor-Elect Wes Moore. “I know with Sen. Lee alongside me, we will swiftly create an economically thriving Maryland that leaves no one behind.”
“I’m so excited to work alongside Governor Wes Moore as Maryland’s next Secretary of State to bring real change to our communities,” said Senator Susan Lee. “On day one, we’ll be ready to hit the ground running to create an economically thriving state that leaves no one behind–one that puts our working families first and sends a clear message to businesses that we are ready to get to work.”
The Administration says Lee was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2002 and the Senate in 2014 to represent District 16 and has been described as a leader in the general assembly on cyber security and innovation, identity theft, online fraud, consumer protection, pay equity, and gun safety and laws to fight domestic violence, sexual assault, human and labor trafficking, child and senior abuse, and hate crimes. They say she also has led efforts to promote bioscience, nanobiotechnology, telehealth, IT, and emerging technologies.
Co-Chair of the Maryland Cybersecurity Council Law & Policy Subcommittee, Co-Chair of the Maryland Commission on Cyber Security, Innovation and Excellence, and as Co-Chair of the Maryland Identity Theft Task Force, the Administration says Lee has authored and led efforts to pass major laws to protect Marylanders against cyber attacks and terrorism, ransomware, identity theft, and online fraud, and assist victims of those crimes.
According to the Administration, Lee was also the lead senate sponsor of the Maryland of the Maryland Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, True Freedom Act, and Anti-Exploitation Act and laws to ban ghost guns, require background checks on long gun sales, and to empower women, children, families, and all hardworking individuals.
The Administration says that Lee is an attorney, the first Asian American elected to the Senate and the first Chinese American elected to the general assembly. They say she is the Senate Majority Whip and is a Member of the Governor’s Family Violence Council, the first and past Chairman of the Maryland Legislative Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus and past President of the Women’s Legislative Caucus (Women Legislators of Maryland).
They say Lee is the daughter of a World War II US Navy Veteran and retired Washington Post artist, and a proud proud product of the Montgomery County public schools, Leland Junior High School, Herbert Hoover Junior High, and Winston Churchill High School, and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of San Francisco School of Law.
The Administration says Lee has served both on the public and private sector Lee was an attorney with the US Commission on Civil Rights and the US Patent and Trademark Office and practiced law with Washington Attorney Joseph Gebhardt. She was also appointed to serve on the United States Patent and Trademark Advisory Board during the Clinton Administration, they say.
The Administration says Lee was a member of the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board, Jewish Foundation for Group Homes Board, Progressive Maryland, Co-Chair of the Montgomery County NAACP Multicultural Community Partnership, President of Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater Washington Area, and Board Member of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.
Currently, Lee represents District 16, which includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Friendship Heights, Potomac, Rockville, Cabin John, and Glen Echo. She lives with her husband in Bethesda right now.