What's Happening MoCo?

What's Happening at MACo 2024 Pt. 1? - State and County Reps Share Insights, Resources

• Derrick Kenny, Andrew Friedson, Jon Monger, Michelle Whittaker, Patrick Sawyer, Anthony Brown • Season 9 • Episode 86

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In this episode of "What's Happening MoCo," we sit down with Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown to unpack the crucial responsibilities of his office. Brown speaks candidly about his initiatives aimed at reducing the over-incarceration of young Black men, fostering fairness, and leveraging technological advancements like AI to protect vulnerable populations. You'll also gain insights into the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative and a new civil rights division, and learn why networking opportunities at the MACo Conference are so beneficial for public servants.

Next, join us at the MACo Conference in Ocean City, Maryland, for an inspiring conversation with Andrew Friedson, President of the Montgomery County Council. Friedson reflects on his 15-year attendance at the conference and its significance for state and county leaders. He highlights key accomplishments such as the Nonprofit Preservation Fund and an unprecedented $20 million economic development package. Friedson underscores the importance of innovation, particularly in biotech, and the powerful impact of government-private partnerships and community-based organizations in enhancing local services, especially during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We also talk with Jon Monger, Director of the Department of Environmental Protection, Sarah Kogel-Smucker, Montgomery County’s Climate Change Officer, Patrick Sawyer from the Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation and Michelle Whittaker, chief of staff for Councilmember Will Jwando. Join us to discover how you can contribute to making Montgomery County a better place to live.

Intro:

Good day and welcome to what's Happening MoCo, an authentic unscripted podcast from your Montgomery County government. Now here's your host, derek Kenney.

Derrick Kenny:

Good day and welcome to what's Happening, moco. We are still at the MAKO Conference. Ocean City, maryland, is hot outside, but it's even hotter in here because we have the Attorney General, anthony Brown.

Anthony Brown:

Welcome to the show. Hey, derek, thanks for having me and what's happening in MoCo. It's great to be back. I was here I think a few years ago, but it's great to be here.

Derrick Kenny:

Wonderful, Wonderful. Thank you for the job that you do. It's so important in protecting the residents of Maryland, much less Montgomery County Maryland's residents, but for many people that don't totally understand government and the different positions in government, let's tell them right now what does the attorney general do for residents.

Anthony Brown:

Sure, in a nutshell, as the chief legal officer I've got a number of responsibilities. Consumer protection that's my biggest division. When Maryland consumers, montgomery County or anywhere else, feel like in the marketplace, as a consumer, they got a bad deal and they think it was unfair, they should call my office, call the Consumer Protection Division. We will help consumers with the vendor, try to mediate the dispute and if we see patterns of abuse by vendors we may bring in enforcement action. So Consumer Protection is number one. I shouldn't say number one, but it's a big one. We have a civil rights division. We now have the authority, as of last year, to enforce federal and state civil rights laws. We have a criminal division, an antitrust division, a securities division. We are the protectors really in many ways statewide protectors of Marylanders.

Derrick Kenny:

Wow, and do you find that people find it easy to seek your help? And if people want your help, how do they reach?

Anthony Brown:

out to your office, sure, so I'd like to think it's easy, but and we make ourselves available you can go to MarylandAttorneyGeneralgov, and that's our website, and you'll see the portal to whether it's the Consumed Protection Division, the Civil Rights Division, our Hate Crimes Commission. We've got a lot of information about landlord-tenant, about identity theft, so there's a lot of good information on that website Wonderful wonderful.

Derrick Kenny:

Now, over the last year or so, you've been serving quite well the public. What are some of the things that you want to identify as the highlights of what you've accomplished thus far?

Anthony Brown:

You know, I think our North Star in the Office of Attorney General is equity and fairness. I mentioned that we established a new civil rights division, so we're going to protect Marylanders who are the victims or subject of discriminatory conduct. I also joined with the Office of the Public Defender and we created the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative. We are looking at the problem of over-incarceration, mass incarceration in.

Anthony Brown:

Maryland, particularly young black men, and what are the issues that contribute to that problem and how can we get after them to start addressing the problem reducing the incarceration rate, reducing the racial disparities in incarceration while at the same time, maintaining a high level of public safety.

Derrick Kenny:

Wow, that's very interesting. How did you come up with if there's something you came up with, how did that come about the introduction of that program?

Anthony Brown:

There was one data set that I looked at that was just appalling. In Maryland, 71% of our incarcerated population are black men, but black men only represent 13% of Maryland's population. That is, by definition, a problem. Maryland incarcerates black men as a percentage of the incarcerated population more than any other state in the nation. So as a black man, as the first African-American attorney general in the state of Maryland, I felt it an obligation to, among many things that I do to address that problem. I can't do it alone, so I've enlisted the community, different nonprofit organizations who are active in this space. Again, I mentioned the public defender. So together we're going to get after this problem Wonderful.

Derrick Kenny:

Now you're here at the MAKO conference and that's your first time. How many times have you been to the conference thus far?

Anthony Brown:

Oh my goodness. I started coming to MAKO back in 2004 or 2005. I missed it one year when I was in Iraq. Good reason to miss it, and I think I've probably come every year since.

Derrick Kenny:

What do you hope to achieve this year and what are some of the things that you hope to achieve in the coming year as Attorney General?

Anthony Brown:

Right. So, first of all, being at MAKO is great. You get to do the networking with county officials Montgomery, Prince George's, Baltimore City, you name it Talk about a lot of important issues with a lot of people in a short period of time, in a short space, so it makes it really efficient and effective. What do I want to accomplish over the next year? We're going to. We're going to continue the work that we're doing to protect bone vulnerable Marylanders. I've got a Medicaid fraud and vulnerable victims unit. We're active in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, making sure that some of our most vulnerable citizens and neighbors are treated well in those facilities and if they're not, I've got a unit that will investigate and hold people accountable.

Derrick Kenny:

Well, that's great to know. That's great to know how do you feel the advancements in technologies like AI and computer learning and all those other things out there have impacted the vulnerability of our residents, like seniors or the average person in Maryland?

Anthony Brown:

You know AI like any other technology, right, there are opportunities, but there are also pitfalls that we have to avoid. Identity theft against vulnerable Marylanders becomes even that much more challenging with the tool of AI. But on the flip side, I can use AI in my work to enhance my investigations right to better protect Marylanders. So you know AI and other technological advancements they're important. They can be used to harm, but they can also be used to help.

Derrick Kenny:

Okay, well, thank you so much for being here today. I know your time is short. Was there anything else that you would like to share with residents of the county that are interested in what you're doing, maybe even ways that they can help? I think a few people mentioned today that residents are part of the muscle that can help overcome some of today's challenges. What would you like to say to residents in that regard?

Anthony Brown:

Yeah, first of all, I thank residents, I thank voters for having faith and confidence in me to serve as the chief legal officer, as their attorney general, as we mentioned at the outset of this. You know it's important that I'm accessible, that my office is accessible. I invite people to go to MarylandAttorneyGeneralgov to access us and I want them you know, the people that voted for me and County Executive Elrich and the delegation from Montgomery County that's working in Annapolis that we do this in partnership and we do it better when we do it together and when we do it together with the community. That's what the expectation is and that's where we can be most effective, right.

Derrick Kenny:

And doing it together. That's what the expectation is and that's where we can be most affected. Right and doing it together. That's what's happening in MoCo. We're here with the attorney general the first black attorney general, anthony Brown, looking forward to great things from you. Sir, thanks for protecting our county and our state.

Anthony Brown:

Good, what's happening in MoCo Okay?

Derrick Kenny:

Derek, thank you, all right, okay, what Good day. What's happening in MoCo? We are still at the MAKO Conference, ocean City, maryland, and we are with none other than the Andrew Friedson Council Member. Andrew Friedson, how are you today, sir, I'm doing great. Thanks. How are you? Pretty good, pretty good. This is my second MAKO Conference. How about for you? Have you been here before? How many times?

Derrick Kenny:

I think this is my 15th MAKO conference, oh wow, 15th MAKO conference and why is it important for you to be here at the MAKO conference and why has it been important in the past to be here?

Andrew Friedson:

Yeah, this is one of the single most important convening of state leaders, county leaders, outside stakeholders, who all come together one time a year in the summer to talk about the issues that impact our communities across the state. It really is an amazing chance to get together, and for me it's not only helpful for me as a current county leader, as the president of the Montgomery County Council, it's also really fun on a personal level. Having been someone who worked at the state level previously for many years in a number of different capacities.

Andrew Friedson:

It's almost like a personal reunion, of sorts for me to see some of my former colleagues and many friends as well.

Derrick Kenny:

And you just mentioned that you're a president of the county council. What's been different as president serving as president of the county council and what are the some some of the things you're proud of accomplishing over your tenure as president?

Andrew Friedson:

well. What's different is I'm responsible for the body as opposed to just being responsible to my constituents, who I am honored and privileged to be able to represent each and every day. That requires certain changes in perspective and it requires quite a bit more work and more things to think about and to do, to convene over meetings, to set the agenda and to be at the center of bringing colleagues together to make sure that we're moving forward as a body. In terms of things that I'm proud of over the last year, there's a lot of things that I'm proud of, but I'll highlight a few. One is the Nonprofit Preservation Fund, a $50 million housing preservation fund where we are partnering with our nonprofit organizations in Montgomery County to preserve up to a half of our naturally occurring affordable housing.

Andrew Friedson:

This has been something that I've been working on for several years. It's on the heels of and in the aftermath of the highly successful and highly celebrated and nationally recognized Housing Production Fund, and it's a collaboration between our Department of Housing, community Affairs and our Housing Opportunities Commission and our nonprofit partners. So really proud of that. On the economic development side, I was pleased this past year to shepherd through the largest economic development package in county history $20 million new jobs initiative package in county history $20 million new jobs initiative. There's three funds within that initiative one for job creation, one for innovation and one for founders equity, to make sure that we're doing this in an intentional way and investing in those businesses and those entrepreneurs who have historically been under-invested and underrepresented.

Derrick Kenny:

Wow, and Montgomery County is known for the biotech industry and you're speaking to investing in innovation. What types of innovations do you find that might benefit from the additional resources that you've allocated?

Andrew Friedson:

Yeah well, we are a leader in research internationally. We are a global leader in many ways. We have built on the success of some of the federal labs.

Andrew Friedson:

we have the NIH, the FDA, nist, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, noaa and a number of others National Cancer Institute I could go on and on and talk about some of those incredible federal assets, but what we always haven't done as well as we could and should is turning research into development and development into jobs, into improving livelihoods for residents, and the goal of this fund is to target strategic growth industries in innovation and help them to expand, help startup companies to become midsize companies and help midsize companies to become much larger companies.

Andrew Friedson:

So there is just unmatched potential in Montgomery County. I'm really excited of what we can do. There are proven models elsewhere in the region and other parts of the country, and what we've done is we've put together the largest innovation fund of any of our regional counterparts and we want to send a clear message that if you are willing to invest in Montgomery County, we want to invest, as Montgomery County, in you, and that's really what the $20 million new jobs initiative is focused on. We want to show that we're open for business, we're open to business and we want to work with our businesses to improve our quality of life and to make sure that Montgomery County stays at the forefront of innovation, moving forward, and we do it in an inclusive way oh great.

Derrick Kenny:

Now, it's been said a lot about government-private partnerships and different types of partnerships, and that's one way the government can invest in the local private industry. What are some other ways that you're connecting with other groups? I think you mentioned something about funds for community organizations as well. How does that play into the picture as well, and why is that important?

Andrew Friedson:

We partner at county government with a lot of organizations. It's one of the main ways we're able to deliver services to our residents. There was no greater example of this, frankly, than during COVID, where Montgomery County's response to the global pandemic was largely done in partnership, in coordination and in collaboration with many community-based organizations with many community-based organizations. That's an infrastructure that was created many years ago, long before I ever joined the council. It has been grown and built and it reached new heights during COVID, where our food recovery efforts, our food hub efforts, our ethnic health initiatives were all done in lockstep with partnerships that we have had and that we grew and built upon. And really, the way I think of it is like a mesh, and county government has mesh in terms of our social safety net that has holes that are too big, where too many people get through it, and the key is to layer on additional layers of mesh so that fewer and fewer people slip between the cracks. And that's really what those nonprofit partnerships, those community-based partnerships, are all about.

Andrew Friedson:

We have community grants. As part of that, we have a number of other opportunities. We created an office of grants management to try to help us to move that forward. On the food side of things. We created an office of food resilience in order to try to address those issues and figure out how do we take the lessons learned from the pandemic and move them forward. And I actually serve in the Council of Governments. I'm a co-chair of the Farm Committee.

Andrew Friedson:

And so we're looking at this not only on a county standpoint, but really at a regional standpoint as well, and Montgomery County has an opportunity, both at a conference like this at the state level and regionally in the Washington DC metropolitan area, to bea regional, a statewide and a national leader on these issues.

Derrick Kenny:

That's amazing because I think I just left the Agricultural Fair this year. Of course it's still happening. Nine Best Days of Summer in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Shout out to the MoCo Fair, of course.

Andrew Friedson:

I was there two days. I was there two days, and if I weren't here, I'd be there more days. It's a great time.

Derrick Kenny:

Same here, same here. So let's take a lighter side of things. What is your favorite food when you go to the fair? Are you able to? Now, I do want to tell. I'm going to talk to Dr Keisha pretty soon to get an update on how to live fitter and how to be more fit but when you go to the Ag Fair, you have a little bit of fun, a little bit of license to have the foods you normally wouldn't have. What are your favorite fair foods? Not necessarily this year, but in the past or any time. Guilty pleasures.

Andrew Friedson:

Yeah. So I think the ice cream is probably the best thing. Local ice cream, it's hard to beat that. It's one of my absolute favorites. I've been watching myself recently, but that one's worth the splurge, I will say. Every year also there's an Ag Leaders lunch and they serve fried chicken, which is something that I happen to personally love, and also local tomatoes and local cucumbers and local corn, and that is sponsored by the local farmers that we have, as well as the local markets. So there is so many great options of great fair food and to me, I'm looking for local.

Speaker 4:

So when.

Andrew Friedson:

I'm at the fair. There's plenty of things that you can eat at the fair that were made somewhere else, but the Ag fair is about local agriculture. It's about supporting our amazing local farmers, and I want the food that they've produced. I joke around that, uh, you know there are uh producers.

Derrick Kenny:

I'm the consumer and I'm happy to be an ag consumer in montgomery county and we're in one of the areas where you actually could have farm to table. That's realistic. The supply chain is there, they don't have to transport. You don't have to transport the food too far from within the county.

Andrew Friedson:

So it's kind of cool we are unique in the country in the intentional land use decisions that we made, starting in 1980 with the creation of the Agricultural Reserve have urban, suburban and rural in such close proximity to a major city in our case the nation's capital and to have urban areas even of the county, like in silver spring and bethesda and north bethesda and wheat. So we should take advantage of that, residents should take advantage of that, because it doesn't happen in most places. You'd normally have to drive hours to do what we can do in minutes and that is a real blessing and it's one of the reasons why I am so proud to be a lifelong Montgomery County resident.

Derrick Kenny:

Wow. Lifelong resident and you appreciate not only the economy and the economics of the county but also the innovation and the sector of businesses that benefit from innovation. But then the agribusiness you appreciate as well, and then as a consumer, you're a customer to the agribusinesses as well, so you have a bit of insight and personal interest in that as well. As we kind of close things out, I'll ask you a couple more questions. You'll be council president for a few more months. What are your goals for those additional months as council president? And then earlier we talked with the climate change officer about her vision for the future, for future Montgomery County when it comes to the environment. Why don't you share your vision of a future Montgomery County as you see it, as you continue to work to improve the county?

Andrew Friedson:

Well the next few months. We have a lot on our plate. We have the quadrennial growth and infrastructure policy, which is really the policy standards of how we grow in the communities that we build in Montgomery County from a public amenities, public infrastructure standpoint. That's something that we'll be taking up on the county council. We have the building energy performance standards that are before the committee the transportation, environment committee that are going to come to the full council. That are a major undertaking as we figure out how to move forward on those issues and balance the competing needs for housing and for office and other commercial uses for buildings and the major challenge in climate and in environmental sustainability. We have a number of other issues that we'll be taking up, including housing targets, which is an effort that I have worked with colleagues on the Planning, housing and Parks Committee to address as well. So it'll be a busy fall. We've got a lot going on. It's going to be an exciting time at the county council, which is really great, and in terms of my vision for the future, I am as bullish as you could possibly be on the future of Montgomery County.

Andrew Friedson:

The challenge that we have in Montgomery County is whether or not we are as strong as the sum of our parts.

Andrew Friedson:

I would put our parts, our assets, our strategic blessings that we have in Montgomery County and I would put them up against any jurisdiction anywhere in the world and I would pick Montgomery County first, foremost and always.

Andrew Friedson:

The question is are we bringing it all together? Have we done the type of management and leadership where we have a county government that is as good as the strength of the people who work for it and work with it, that we have a county and a community that has an economy that is working, as well as the strength of the talent that we have here in Montgomery County, the federal assets that we have here in Montgomery County, the educational resources that we have in Montgomery County and the national resources that we have here in Montgomery County, the federal assets that we have here in Montgomery County, the educational resources that we have in Montgomery County and the natural resources that we have in Montgomery County? I think we can do more. I think we can do better, but I think everything that we need we have in Montgomery County, that there isn't a problem that exists in Montgomery County that can't be solved with all the assets that we have in Montgomery County and I'm excited for what that means for the future of Montgomery County.

Derrick Kenny:

Oh, wow. Well, there you have it. That's what's happening. Moco is doing better, growing, reaching our potential as a county, and the bold statement that he put us up against any other county or jurisdiction in the world. Did you say the world or did you say the?

Andrew Friedson:

nation. I'll take Montgomery County over anywhere.

Derrick Kenny:

There you have it. Do you have anything else you'd like to share with residents or anyone that may have interest in Montgomery County? Mayor.

Andrew Friedson:

We're here to work for you. I'm here as council president to work for you. The county council is here to work for you and to work with you. Reach out to us, share your feedback, feedback. We're trying to include and involve more people in the process than we ever have before and have the type of government that our residents can be proud of right.

Derrick Kenny:

And if people want to reach you or your office, how do they do that?

Andrew Friedson:

councilmemberfreidson at montgomerycountymdgov or montgomerycountymdgov freidson excellent. Thank you for being here thank you, appreciate you having me okay.

Derrick Kenny:

What Good day. What's happening, MoCo? We are here with John Munger, the director of the Department of Environmental Protection for Montgomery County, Maryland, and we are live in Ocean City. We're at the MAKO conference and he's here to learn the best practices, I guess, from across the state, but also to share some of the great knowledge we have in Montgomery County, Maryland. How are you today, John?

Speaker 5:

Good, good. It's so great to be back with you here at MAKO, Derek.

Derrick Kenny:

It's great to have you back, and last year you were a newbie. You were brand new to the position. That's right. You have a full year in now. What has it been like over the last year for you as the incoming director and now as a seasoned director for Montgomery County's DEP department?

Speaker 5:

It director and now as a seasoned director for Montgomery County's DEP department. It's been terrific, derek, and you know the reason it's been terrific is there's a few reasons. Number one the people who live, work and play in Montgomery County are so committed to environmental progress and that is really. That is really our, that is our superpower Everyone listening I'm looking at you because it's really that we have residents and community members and partners that are so focused and energetic about progress and that's really what allows us to get things done that help our environment. So it's been a great year. So many highlights and accomplishments. So it's been a great year, so many highlights and accomplishments. But you know, I think, when I had the chance, derek, to go with the county executive to Taiwan in March, there was a Sustainable Cities Conference there and you know there's so much interest in learning from Montgomery County abroad as well, not just here in Maryland. You know we're used to being number one in Maryland.

Speaker 5:

But you know what we have, the programs we have, are also really models around the world. But you know, one of the things that I said a lot when we were talking with folks abroad is that having an environment where people want to live, where people want to raise their families, an environment where people want to live, where people want to raise their families, yeah, that makes us, that's what makes us a terrific county all around is that having an environment that is safe, that is clean, is really one of the core things that makes our county such a desirable place as a job market, as a place that people want to live. So it's been a great year, with so much great more work to come.

Derrick Kenny:

You mentioned quite a bit about people and we really pride ourselves on being people first and helping to break down the government so people understand how they can help or how things work or how things are working for them, what resources are available. You mentioned a little bit earlier, before we got on the podcast, that people are the superpower when it comes to the environmental change that we're looking for. Let's talk about that a bit. What can people residents do to help meet our climate goals or environmental goals?

Speaker 5:

Yeah, absolutely. So. The short answer is do something. Do something different tonight, today, today, than you did yesterday, and I'll give you a few examples. Do something different tomorrow. So I think sometimes, when we think about our environment, it's hard to know where to start right. So let's break it down for folks. One place you can start right now is in your own kitchen. So reducing food waste has huge environmental benefits. You might say to yourself I don't waste that much food. I guarantee you you are wasting more food than you think. The data really shows that. So one thing everyone can do is only buy food at the store you know you're going to eat is only buy food at the store you know you're going to eat. Do not overbuy. Um, when you're cooking at home, only put as much food on your plate as you're going to eat, you know you.

Speaker 8:

Probably you can think of your family, your own family members.

Speaker 5:

Eric, you're like you're not going to eat all that, no, and you know what they were, right, yeah yeah, so so all the so.

Derrick Kenny:

A lot of us are ambitious and we have these things. We're trying to food prep, but deep in our hearts we know we're not going to eat 10 bags of salad, right, right, and salad goes bad and becomes waste. So instead of buying 10 bags, buy something more reasonable, like two bags. Absolutely, instead of buying 20 apples, you could buy five apples.

Speaker 5:

It saves you money. It saves you money number one. It's good for the environment. Number two, so it saves you money. It saves you money number one. It's good for the environment. Number two, so it is a win-win. So start in your own kitchen, start in your own home. You know there's other things people can do. So we're really trying to move towards electrification across all sectors buildings, transit. We were talking about cars. This morning I saw you in the parking lot. This morning I saw you in the parking lot. Yeah, so we have an EV. We have an electric vehicle co-op in Montgomery County, where the county actually helps make sure residents are aware of all the deals they can get on electric vehicles so that your next car is electric so someone wants a electric Mustang or a Tesla?

Derrick Kenny:

the you can reach out to the county or visit the DP website.

Speaker 5:

Our website has all of the local automate dealers and so we help that we have a partnership with, so we help publicize those deals to make sure people on the market can know about the best prices available to shop right in Montgomery County for their next EV Let me play the bad cop a little bit.

Derrick Kenny:

Sometimes people see EVs as inconvenient. Bad cop a little bit. Sometimes people see EVs as inconvenient. What makes owning an EV beneficial in Montgomery County, other than the cost savings I? Guess from the incentives that the county has.

Speaker 5:

Yeah, so there's so much I could say on this topic. I love my EV, but I'll start by saying you know, it actually makes your life a lot easier. Number one you save money. Think about it. Think about how much money you spend pumping gas every year. It's a lot, it's a lot of money. So there are federal incentives right now that reduce the price of EVs. You know, get those while they're hot, but we're talking real money. I mean it's thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars off Federals. You know, get those while they're hot, but we're talking real money. I mean it's thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars off.

Speaker 5:

Yes, $7,500, but it's not just off the front, because then you think about you're not doing oil changes, you're not stopping at the gas pump every couple days, I mean. So the cost of ownership over the long run is actually much, much lower and you save yourself time Every time you get in your car. If you're charging at home and we can talk about ways that that's becoming easier Every time you get in your car, you're starting with a full tank, you're starting with a full charge. That's great, and you don't have to be like, oh, I got to stop for gas, even when I'm running late already.

Derrick Kenny:

And we did a podcast a while ago talking about the increase in the number of charging stations across the county.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, and the initiatives for that.

Derrick Kenny:

So it's not a charging station desert in Montgomery County. There are places where people can charge their cars other than their homes.

Speaker 5:

Absolutely. We're adding EV charging chargers around the county all the time. We just actually received a grant to add even more chargers. We're adding them on county property. We're adding them in parks. We just recently we added more chargers in Wheaton Regional Park recently. So and there's apps that tell you where all of these are. So you know, I think people are going to say, oh my gosh, what if I run out? You are far more likely to run out of gas than you are to run out of an electric charge, because your car tells you, when you have an EV, what your range is and how to get to the closest chargers.

Derrick Kenny:

That's great, that's great. Now let's shift gears. Here we are at the MAKO Conference, ocean City, maryland, and you're here for a reason. What are some of the things you hope to accomplish while you're here at the MAKO Conference?

Speaker 5:

Sure. So I mean, one of the exciting things about being in the same room with so many other counties, county leaders and state leaders is learning from one another. So I've met with colleagues who are state delegates. We met with Delegate Charcutian yesterday, who's one of Montgomery County's many rock star delegates. We met with our colleagues in Prince George's County this morning. So, talking about how we can solve issues together, I mean none of environmental issues don't respect borders Air quality, water quality these are things that don't end at the county line. So thinking about how we can work on these with our partners across the state is just is exciting. It allows us to get all the more bang for the buck when we're working on these problems together, whether it's going after grants, whether it's regional partnerships around a specific issue. So the most exciting part of this is is the conversations we have, you know, in the sessions in the hallways about ways we're working together with our county partners across the state.

Derrick Kenny:

Incredible, incredible. Well, thank you for your service and trying to help the county achieve its ambitious ecological and climate goals. Is there anything else that you'd like to add before we wrap things up?

Speaker 5:

You know, I just say to everyone, listening like back, what we said earlier do something different. Tonight you can do something in your own kitchen that will help us protect the environment. So the answer really lies in the hands of all of our residents, our businesses, our young people are super focused on environmental progress, so it's really about individual action that's going to allow us to get there. So I'm so grateful to everyone listening, so grateful to you, derrick, for getting help and getting the word out, and we've got so much to be proud of in montgomery county and looking forward to more progress ahead all right, all right now.

Derrick Kenny:

Okay, put you in the spot. Yeah, all right. So we were just at the Ag Fair and a gentleman walks up and he has and one of the things we do we say ask the question, we'll get you the answers and this gentleman had a question for us and he said he would like to see an episode of the what's Happening with MoCo podcast where we visit a recycling facility Love it. Is that possible?

Speaker 5:

Oh my gosh absolutely.

Derrick Kenny:

All right, absolutely All right we have.

Speaker 5:

we have a terrific recycling facility. It's open to county residents. It's the transfer station in Durwood, centrally located in the county. It's world class already. We're making it even better with upgrades to the recycling facility that are underway. So we'd love to have, we'd love to have you do a show at the at the recycling facility.

Derrick Kenny:

All right. Well, that's what's happening. Moco, you heard it here first Looking forward to meeting again and partnering again with John Monger, the director of ZEP, as we seek to do more and more to improve and improve more the quality of life here at the county through improving the environment, the ecology and hopefully helping people like me get a nice new electronic vehicle. Electric vehicle, that's right. Thanks so much, derek. What new?

Speaker 5:

electronic vehicle electric vehicle, that's right.

Derrick Kenny:

Thank you. Thanks so much, derek Right, what Good day. And we are back at the MAKO Conference, ocean City, maryland, and we are here with okay, we're here live at the MAKO Conference in Ocean City, maryland, and we're here with Sarah Kogel-Smucker and she is the climate change officer for Montgomery County, maryland, and we're going to get into that in just a moment because that's a new position for me and it may be a new position for you, but what has it been like so far for you at the MAKO conference? How have you liked it so far?

Speaker 8:

It's great, it's amazing to have so many people in one place where you can have conversations and try to move issues forward and make connections with people that you can follow up on. So happy to be here.

Derrick Kenny:

All right, all right. Speaking of happy to be here, when did you start with the county as climate change officer? Just late last September, so it's been about 10 months 10 months, all right, and let's talk a little bit about what a climate change officer is and what does it do.

Speaker 8:

So it's a position in the county executive's office to lead the whole of government approach to meeting our climate change goals. And Montgomery County has some of the most ambitious climate change goals in the nation, so we need all aspects of the county working together to meet these goals.

Derrick Kenny:

Oh, wow, wow. So it's a 3000, like a higher, higher level. Look at holistically, trying to help make change. And what are some of the goals that you have as climate change officer that the executive has, uh, for the future of the county?

Speaker 8:

so the county adopted climate change goals of reducing climate change pollution, greenhouse gas emissions 80 by 2027 and 100 by 2035 oh. Oh wow, which is soon.

Intro:

Okay.

Speaker 8:

Yeah, but we have the solutions in place. So what that looks like is transforming our fleet of buses to be electric buses and to have them powered by solar power, and we're on our way to do that.

Derrick Kenny:

Whoa, whoa. Okay, say that again.

Speaker 8:

So if you've ever you've ridden a bus around the county um and if you ever stood at a bus stop and you feel that exhaust coming out of the bus, yep, that is pollution and it's not great to breathe in and it's not good for the climate. So the electric buses don't make that pollution. You get to stand there, breathe clean air, get on the on the bus, ride the bus and they're quieter.

Speaker 8:

So, they're actually a much nicer ride too. So we're transforming our fleet bus by bus, as we need to buy new buses into electric buses. We have 14 right now, I believe, but we have a contract to buy hundreds more over the next few years.

Derrick Kenny:

And then you're using solar to charge the batteries in some way.

Speaker 8:

Yes, so the Department of General Services has already transformed one of the bus depots in Brookville to be solar powered to power the buses, and they're working to transform the next bus depot, called MTOK, to do the same thing.

Derrick Kenny:

Oh, wow, that's amazing. So you're using electric-powered buses pure emissions, of course so you don't get that big puff of smog in your face when they drive away, and then less noise when it's driving down the street. You don't hear all the noise pollution that you normally get with buses. And then on top of that, you have the solar-powered stations, depots that can charge these buses. That's, that's. That's amazing. What does it take to put together some this type of comprehensive plan? That seems very thoughtful in terms of the approach and benefit for solutions like electronic electric buses.

Speaker 8:

So I'm lucky I came in when the county already had a plan. So I'm lucky I came in when the county already had a plan. They adopted it in 2021, which was a huge undertaking of county staff leaders, elected officials and community members, with a lot of input. But that means we do have a roadmap. So that's one solution. The electric buses. Another important solution is making our buildings more efficient, so make sure that new buildings, and even existing buildings, use less electricity.

Derrick Kenny:

Oh, wow. And what are some of the ways that you're finding to reduce electricity within buildings?

Speaker 8:

So part of it can be making sure a building's well insulated, which also makes it more comfortable. There's an awesome new technology called heat pumps. Okay, and so instead of having, like, a gas boiler and a traditional HVAC system, this heat pump takes heat out of the cold air in the winter and brings it into your home. It takes cold out of the hot air in the summer and brings it into your home. Okay, so it's much more efficient, but it's also very comfortable because it's not that same Fly.

Intro:

Yes.

Speaker 8:

Well, it's a little less humid in the summer, but it's also more consistent the temperatures.

Derrick Kenny:

That's great, great. Now what are some of your goals? I know you have county goals, but what are some of the objectives that you'll be taking on this year as climate change officer, some of the tactics you may be using, some of the things you want to do meeting with residents, meeting with groups, different types of policies. What are some of the things that you want to work towards?

Speaker 8:

So we definitely want to do even more outreach and, you know, input from residents, discussion with residents and empowering residents to take climate solutions in their own lives and, you know, make little behavior changes. That is going to make the county more climate smart. So we're going to be working to do that. And then a big important thing for me is making sure that we are building these public health connections, because climate solutions are public health solutions. When you get rid of climate change pollution you know from the bus, for example, you are less likely to trigger an asthma attack in children who are waiting there. So we need to make sure that we are putting these solutions in place that prioritize the health of our residents in the county and make sure that people understand actions that they can take that are climate smart but also good for them and their family's health.

Derrick Kenny:

Wonderful. So you're here at the county now. You're 10 months in as climate change officer. What was your journey like professionally from just a few years ago to the point where now you're serving as the focus for the climate change officer?

Speaker 8:

So I've been working on climate change issues since I graduated college. I got really interested in environmental issues in college and I just thought let me see if I can make a career of it, and I feel incredibly grateful that.

Speaker 4:

I've been able to.

Speaker 8:

So I worked for a couple of different environmental nonprofits and then I went to law school to continue environmental work and I worked for New York City government for nearly 10 years and DC government for nearly for a little over five years. So I'm new to Montgomery County but I'm not new to local government, and I love local government because this is where things really affect people, where change can be made, where it's you know, your own community where you live Awesome.

Derrick Kenny:

Awesome. So so, speaking of local government, we're at the MAKO Conference. The MAKO Conference has local government officials and employees and leaders from all over Maryland. What beneficial about the MECO conference each year for you as a, even though you're new to Maryland? What do you see as the benefits of attending the MECO conference?

Speaker 8:

I think, getting to have those conversations. One thing that we are looking at is what solutions we need as data centers come to the state, so you know when you Google, search or use your phone that data runs through a data center and that data center uses a lot of energy. And we want to make sure it's efficient and it uses clean energy, and so starting to have those conversations how best can we do that in Maryland is an incredibly useful part of being here.

Derrick Kenny:

And so you find that so does it all through formal sessions or do you have conversations? Do you network? What are some of the different things that you find are being valuable in terms of like the sessions or the networking, or sometimes the social events?

Speaker 8:

I think setting up some meetings and being able to talk to people who you know normally you'd all have the meeting but you'd be on teams and you're a little face in the screen and being able to just be in person and talk through things but you know, getting to know people is always great. I think. You know work depends on people working together to get things done, and so the more you can get to know people, I think that's really valuable.

Derrick Kenny:

Excellent, excellent. Now another question here just as you're moving forward into the next year, what are some of the things that you'd like to see? Like this will shape the future of the world. You know, if you ideally Montgomery County is able to, it's 2035,. We've achieved our goals. Can you describe some of the characteristics of that county that has met its ecological ambitions?

Speaker 8:

That is an amazing question. So, first of all, we'd have more trees in communities that don't have trees now, and we need that for clean air, we need that for shade, we need that because they suck in climate change pollution, but also it'll be nicer. You know, every community in Montgomery County should have access to green space. So that's one thing. Then you know, we would see less asthma attacks, less heart attacks, less heart disease all of these things that are made worse by air pollution or made by worse by extreme heat, the things that really take people's health conditions and exacerbate them. Having that gone and having a much healthier Montgomery County. Having that gone and having a much healthier Montgomery County and then you know we're expanding mass transit and that's an important climate solution because that is a very climate friendly way to get around.

Speaker 8:

And so, you know, I would love to be able to get around the county without having to drive all the time, and that is something that the county executive has a vision of how to do with bus rapid transit, which is, you know, dedicated bus lanes that will move much faster than the current bus can and have amenities like Wi-Fi on board.

Derrick Kenny:

Will they be able to skip the Beltway traffic board? Would they be able to skip the beltway traffic?

Speaker 8:

So they will not the beltway, but they get traffic signal prioritization. Oh, nice so as the bus approaches the red light, the light changes. So you'll just be sitting on a bus and not even at red lights.

Derrick Kenny:

So you sit on the bus and you have free Wi-Fi bonus and then you're not. You don't have to deal with the traffic yourself. You may be in traffic, but you're not in traffic.

Speaker 8:

Exactly, and, you know, maybe you're whizzing by people stuck in traffic because the bus has the dedicated lane and it's getting the signal prioritization. So I look forward to that. I'm not I don't love to love to drive, but I have to do it right now.

Derrick Kenny:

Driving can be a bear, especially in the DC area. I think the average commute is close to an hour maybe, which can be a little daunting. So that's great that you're able to look at a feature of the county and the way that you're able to help to affect the changes that will bring that future to light. What else, if you have a chance now to just speak to residents and encourage them to do their part, if there is a part for residents in helping to improve the county's environment?

Speaker 8:

So there's a huge part for residents. We all can do our part. Very simple things like turning out the lights when you leave a room.

Speaker 8:

Add up and make a difference, trying the bus if you haven't taken it a while, see if it works for you for one or two trips and, you know, maybe even think about some bigger changes, like putting solar panels on your roof, if you own your own home and you can do that. If you're going to buy a car, you know, think about making your next car an electric car. I drive one. It's really fun to drive.

Speaker 8:

Even though I hate driving, I like the electric car, so you know just as you're going about your life, ways that you can use less energy and use cleaner energy can really add up to a big difference.

Derrick Kenny:

And the big difference is what's happening in MoCo, and we are here with Sarah Kogel-Schmucker.

Speaker 8:

Yes.

Derrick Kenny:

The Climate Change Officer of Montgomery County, maryland, here at the MAKO Conference. Look forward to great things from you and your office and your continued service to the residents of Montgomery County, maryland. Thanks for being here.

Speaker 8:

Well, thanks for having me.

Derrick Kenny:

Good day, welcome back to the MAKO Conference. I'm Derrick Kinney, your host, and I'm here with Patrick Sawyer. We're gonna talk a little bit about what I think some residents especially if you're younger you're looking for maybe a little bit of job assistance. You're looking for a little bit of a jumpstart in your career. His organization might be able to help you with that. Patrick, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me All right Now tell me the name of your organization again.

Speaker 7:

So we are the Department of Service and Civic Innovation. We are the newest state department in the state of Maryland, and what does this department do? So the Department of Service and Civic Innovation is really the realization of Governor Westmore's and Lieutenant Governor Miller's dream to make Maryland a state that serves, a state that leaves no one behind. And what our department specifically does? We run a program called the Maryland Core Service Year Option that engages Marylanders 18 years old and older, but really with a focus on folks who finished high school in the last three years. In nine and a half months of full-time, paid service, you work in a job full-time maybe in the nonprofit sector, for-profit, state local government and you get great work experience, but also you're getting paid to do it. Oh, wow.

Derrick Kenny:

So what are the qualifications? So if you graduate high school that's one qualification you have to live in Maryland for the qualification. What other criteria were you looking for from young people or younger people because I'm older to participate in the program?

Speaker 7:

Sure, and before I even go a step farther, I just want to say I say finished high school intentionally because it does not need to be graduating with a diploma, which is important Because, you know, a lot of our members finish the GED or Certificate of Completion. You know, I like to say we don't care how you got there, we just care that you did. That matters a lot to us.

Derrick Kenny:

If you're across the finish line and you're done with high school and you're looking to improve your prospects for your career, get some experience in the forest. While you're getting some experience earning some money, then you can look at your program. That's exactly right.

Speaker 7:

And you know. Beyond that, what we're looking for is just a demonstrated commitment to service. In our application we ask open-ended questions that ask candidates. You know, how do you see this program maybe benefiting you and, through the benefit that you get from the program, how are you going to use it to benefit your community?

Derrick Kenny:

That's really what we look for in all of our members. What type of criteria? What's the application process like? When someone hears about your program, they are interested. They are finished with high school, they are Maryland residents. What would you like them? Where do they go next?

Speaker 7:

The first place to go is our website, servemarylandgov. Servemarylandgov All spelled out, and once you're on our website, the very first thing that you'll see is a button that just says member application. They can click on that. They'll create a quick application account and then really the application takes usually somewhere between 25 to 30 minutes. It's very quick. We don't require a resume, although you can upload one if you'd like. We don't require any references, it is just a little bit of demographic information, some geographic information that lets us know where you are in the state and then why you're interested in the program and what you can offer.

Derrick Kenny:

Is there any requirement in terms of what the interests are?

Speaker 7:

We are very expansive in terms of the number of jobs and the types of jobs that we offer our members. We have folks working in climate and the environment. We have folks working in historic trades and apprenticeships IT, public service, education, community health you name it, we've got it. So, no matter what you're interested in, if you come to us, we are very good at finding organizations and placements at organizations that are going to be aligned with your interests and so they're not working directly for the state of Maryland.

Derrick Kenny:

You'll you'll match them with an organization that needs the type of help that best fits the situation. The best person. That's exactly right, yes, awesome. What are? The situation best fits the person. That's exactly right, yes, awesome. What are examples of some of the partners that you guys have, private or public partners that host these young people?

Speaker 7:

Sure, so I'll talk about Montgomery County specifically if that's best for your audience.

Derrick Kenny:

Of course, that's what's happening in MoCo.

Speaker 7:

Four shining star examples that come to my mind are montgomery college uh. A wider circle is another organization. We have potomac conservancy and then also sunflower bakery um, all of these are uh organizations with different missions.

Speaker 7:

I'm happy to dive into them if you'd like, but we've had members serving there throughout our entire first cohort and have had great experiences with partnering with them and actually all four of those are, I think, returning for our second cohort. It's that return customership that really to us is a strong indicator that folks have had a good experience not only on the member side but also on the host site partner, the business side, and want to come back for more.

Derrick Kenny:

This is another great example of public-private partnerships, exactly.

Speaker 4:

Where you're.

Derrick Kenny:

Also education. You mentioned Montgomery College, and I think just recently Maryland has been named one of the best states for community colleges in the country, so that's good to have Montgomery College mentioned, of course, in the same breath as those type of things as well. So if you had to give a spiel I'm a young person that completed high school and I was on the fence about participating in your program what would you say to me?

Speaker 7:

What I would say to you is you know it's a nine and a half month program and when you finish high school, you know you might have a good sense of what it is you want to do next.

Speaker 7:

Maybe it's you want to go to college. You might have a good sense of what it is you want to do next. Maybe you want to go to college, maybe you want to join the military, maybe you want to go into the workforce in a certain field. But at the end of the day you're 17 or 18 years old. You probably don't really know yet. I certainly didn't. And what this program allows you to do is use those nine and a half months to gain experience, make some money and also take some time to figure out in a very concrete, tangible way what it is that gets you excited, that makes your heartbeat a little bit faster, that gets you out of bed in the morning, excited to go to work and so you know, maybe you have this nine and a half month experience and you love what you did and you can then go forward on your path confident that that is, in fact, what you want to do.

Speaker 7:

On the other hand, maybe you know, you try something out for nine and a half months, you have a good experience, but you say this wasn't the thing for me, the thing that I want to do the rest of my life. And that's okay too. That's also a lesson learned, and so I think this is just a great opportunity for young folks specifically to you know figure out in a very productive sense what comes next in their lives.

Derrick Kenny:

All right, all right, we heard it directly from Patrick Sawyer. He's passionate, he is earnest and he's here for you as Maryland residents, of course, montgomery County residents, please look forward to helping these young people get a good first step into their careers and to the next years of their lives.

Speaker 7:

And what's that URL?

Derrick Kenny:

again, it's servemarylandgov. Very easy to get, servemarylandgov. Thank you so much for being here today. Patrick. Really appreciate your presence and your program, the benefit it gives to young people that are not necessarily interested, at least initially in college, and don't necessarily have plans, but they want to get out there, get experience and, of course, get paid. Yes, and that's what's happening at MoCo. Thanks for being here. Thank you so much. Appreciate it Today at what was happening at MoCo. We are still at the NACO Conference in Ocean City, maryland, and we have a special treat. Over the years we've talked to different leaders and council members and the executive and they've always mentioned their team, how important their team is, how many things their team is doing for residents, for the community. But we've never talked to the team, and so now we have a chance to talk to the chief of staff, will Jawando. She's the head of the team for Will Jawando, one of the most productive council members that the county has had in quite some time. Welcome, welcome to the program.

Speaker 4:

Thank you for having me.

Derrick Kenny:

Should I call you Ms Whitaker or Michelle? You can just call me Michelle, I can call her Michelle. So now I have made inroads here, let's start with what I always ask what do people in government do? So what does a chief of staff or council member do?

Speaker 4:

Well, I love that question.

Speaker 4:

My family has asked that question of me as well, because they are also residents of the county and they want to know, like what do you all do?

Speaker 4:

You know what can I talk to you about and you know how can you help me with like a question that I have and particularly the role that I play and our team, which shout out to Christina and Dave and Marisa and Michelle, who make up the rest of our team, so it's just we.

Speaker 4:

You know, we serve the entire county and help Councilmember Juando specifically with his legislative priorities, but also handling events and making sure that we're promoting different activities. He chairs the Education and Culture Committee, so we do a lot of work around both education, arts, libraries, youth, mentorship. So what we do is really the basics of how do we serve the residents in the county. How do we make sure that they have access to programs that the county is offering, how do we make sure that they get assistance when they need that, how do we connect them with the people and the agencies that can help them with whatever needs that they have, and how do we listen to them when they have ideas, proposals or an issue to make sure that we're listening to everyone and making sure their voices are part of the conversation Awesome.

Derrick Kenny:

And so, as Chief of Staff, you see a lot of the questions or requests that come in from residents or the council member that come in from residents. For the council member what types of concerns do you prefer residents come to the council member for? Everything's not, for instance, for the police department, everything's not 911. Some things are non-emergency Everything. Some things may not be for the council member directly, maybe for the department. What things would you prefer people contact this office directly for?

Speaker 4:

Well, I mean, I think what Council Member Jawando would say is that we are here to serve the residents. So if they have a question, and even if it's outside of our work, we're going to help do the next best thing, which is to connect them to the people, into the people. So you know, sometimes we do get questions or a resident raises a concern about maybe there's a public safety issue, a noise ordinance issue, there's an issue with their sidewalk, right, we're not DOT, we're not the police department, but what we would do is make sure that we have their information and then pass it on to the right department. So you know, really there's no question or there's no question that's going to be inappropriate or not, that you can't ask us, because we do a lot of work with connecting to local agencies but also to municipalities. So sometimes questions that come to us relate to their particular city that they live in, so we connect them there. And even sometimes they're related to state or federal. So we work closely with our state, our delegation, as well as our federal partners. So if there's a constituent issue, we will try to get it into the right person's hands.

Speaker 4:

And I'll give one example there was a woman who called me called our office a year ago and it was near her anniversary and she needed to get her passport. Was near her anniversary and she needed to get her passport and she knew Councilmember Juando and had his number for his office, called and said I need help with a passport. We don't do passports at the county level, but what I did was I made sure that she was connected to her congressional office and I not only sent over information, but I provided her a contact name if she needed to follow up. And then I followed up a couple days after to see how things went and she was able to connect, get her passport and then she and her husband could go for their 50th anniversary. Wow, that's wonderful. So those were the great stories. Success story yeah, be part of the solutions, be part of helping people live their lives in the county and do the things that they want to do, and that's what we do.

Speaker 4:

So it may not be something that we always are the direct like we're going to do a response and we're going to fix or change this, but we're hopefully doing the things to connect you with the right people. The primary responsibility of the county council is legislative, so we do legislation, we pass the budget, we approve appropriations throughout the year. So obviously if we get questions or comments about that, that is totally within our wheelhouse of things that we need to respond to and include in that information. So that's always valuable. So if you have a policy proposal, send it our way. If you have comments on a policy proposal, send them our way. What we do is that all of that information Council Member Juando gets that our team reviews it.

Derrick Kenny:

So for lay people like myself, what's a policy proposal?

Speaker 4:

So it would be like a to change the speed limit. That may not be the well, that's more of a state example, but like to change what's a. I'm trying to think of a local law that we recently did Rent regulations are one example of that. So you know, people would call in and give their thoughts on the rent regulations, on the overall law, how to get assistance once the law is enacted. So that's one piece. We also do a lot of work on the budget, as I said. So anytime there's an appropriation of money throughout the year, the council looks at that and decides whether or not to approve that additional appropriation into the budget and then annually, we're reviewing and approving the budget for the next fiscal year. Wow, wow.

Derrick Kenny:

You've taught us so much, not only about your position and what the team does, but also what council does. What would you like to leave for residents that are out there that have heard your call, but you always maybe wanted to say something to residents in general as chief of staff.

Speaker 4:

Well, I'm really proud to be a resident in the county and when I talk to people I can tell that they're passionate and care about the county.

Speaker 8:

And so.

Speaker 4:

I hope everyone approaches the conversations that they have with not only Council Member Jawando's staff but staff of other council members or our central staff who also do a lot of work on the policy, to recognize that they're coming from a place of really caring and wanting to move forward and that any conversation we have let's make sure that it's helping to find common ground and move in that direction and really, like I'm always impressed with the different ideas, the different work, the amazing ideas that people have across the county and I want to find more ways to share that. So you know, please share your ideas, please share what's going on in your community. We want to be out there and be able to celebrate that and then you know, recognize that we're all here together and how we can have more conversations.

Derrick Kenny:

Right, and we're all here together. That's what's happening, moco. Thank you so much, michelle, for coming and sharing so much about what you do and what the council does and what teams do. We've now seen behind the scenes, the teams made up of people Gaza. It's not like they exist. They exist and they're very thoughtful, conscientious, ineffective. So thank you so much for being here today, Michelle. I appreciate you.

Speaker 4:

Thank you, I'm so glad to be here. All right.

Intro:

Thanks for listening to what's Happening, moco. Please subscribe via your favorite podcasting platform and follow us on Facebook. This podcast is brought to you by County Cable Montgomery, your source for news and information from the Montgomery County government. Connect with us via cable, facebook, instagram or YouTube by searching for County Cable MoCo.