For the first time, all the proposed board leaders of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments are of African-American origin and all Corporate Officer Nominees are women.
The secretary-treasurer of the panel is Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart and vice president duties are shared between D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Phyllis Randall, who is Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair at-large.
“This speaks to the diversity and inclusion of our region and it makes me very proud,” tweeted at-large D.C. Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr.
Earlier this week, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks was elected president of the 2019 Council of Governments’ Corporate Officers.
“Isn’t that amazing? So, the leadership is female,” said Alsobrooks, adding that the leaders in the region should be committed to working together and offer residents a uniform standard of transportation, infrastructure and quality of life.
“I believe it is a time for us to continue to go together and I believe we grow and we continue to benefit from it,” she said.
This is an historic @MWCOG leadership panel! For the first time, all Board Officers nominees are African American and all Corporate Officer nominees are women. This speaks to the diversity and inclusion of our region and it makes me very proud. pic.twitter.com/WWfK1gV3vu
— Robert C. White, Jr. (@RobertWhite_DC) December 13, 2018
The members of the panel are friends and known to each other, which makes communication and collaboration easy, according to Randall, whose Chief of Staff, Bo Machayo believes that women leadership across the region can bring about a new level of solution, support and collaboration.
“COG has a $60 million budget and about $35 million of that is pass-through money — grants and things like that. So it’s important to have those collaborations and those discussions and those relationships,” added Randall.
At the 9th Council of Governments (COG) Board of Directors meeting scheduled for January, the 2019 COG Board Officers nominees will be voted, including Chairman Robert White from the D.C. Council, Vice Chairman Derrick L. Davis of the Prince George’s County Council, and Christian Dorsey of Arlington County Board.