Governor Hogan announced this week that Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Environment Horacio Tablada will succeed current Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles starting June 1. As reported by Maryland Matters,
Grumbles is leaving to become executive director of the Environmental Council of the States, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan association of state and territorial environmental commissioners based in Washington, D.C. Grumbles has served as the environment secretary since Hogan took office in 2015, making him the longest serving environment secretary in state’s history, according to a Hogan administration news release.
Tablada currently serves as deputy secretary of the Department of the Environment. He has more than three decades of experience as an environmental leader in Maryland, with accomplishments that include the environmental oversight of the redevelopment of the former Sparrows Point steel mill site and the state’s highly successful program to reduce childhood blood lead poisoning. Prior to being named deputy secretary in 2015, he was director of the Department of the Environment’s Land Management Administration for more than a decade, overseeing brownfield redevelopment of former industrial sites, recycling and waste diversion, management of solid waste and hazardous waste, fuel facilities, mining and lead paint poisoning prevention.
“Horacio Tablada has committed his career to serving the public and protecting the environment and public health,” said Governor Hogan. “He will lead MDE’s ongoing work to protect and restore the environment, including the Chesapeake Bay, boost jobs and our economy through the safe redevelopment of brownfields, and help the state achieve its climate goals through partnerships.”
In the announcement, Governor Hogan also thanked Secretary Grumbles for his service.
“I want to thank Ben for his outstanding service to the state and the region,” said Governor Hogan. “Under his leadership, we have made great strides to achieve our Chesapeake Bay restoration goals, continued to reduce childhood lead poisoning in our state, and implemented one of the most aggressive and balanced climate programs in the nation.”
Suzanne Dorsey, who currently serves as assistant secretary, is being appointed to serve as deputy secretary of the Department. Dorsey has been assistant secretary for the Department of the Environment since February 2019, working with the agency’s Water and Science Administration on Chesapeake Bay restoration and issues that require cross-agency collaboration on greenhouse gas reduction, climate resiliency, environmental justice, public health, and government transparency. She previously was executive director of the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology at the University of Maryland.
