County Administration

About

Brandee Ganz served as the County’s Chief Information Officer from 2019 –2023, where she managed more than 100 employees within the Department of Technology and Communication Services. During that time, she oversaw numerous projects and initiatives, helping to ensure the County’s Information Technology (IT) needs and standards were met and maintained.

During her tenure at the Department, her team’s focus was to ensure the safety of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, while keeping all County services safe and secure. Ganz led efforts to move the County’s workforce to a remote environment, without service interruption to staff or residents.

With the need to move all government meetings online during quarantine, but still allow for transparency and public input, her team quickly built a digital platform allowing all meetings and events to be hosted virtually. This included County Council meetings, budget meetings, board meetings, and several townhall events to provide crucial information to the community.

Also, during this time, her team partnered with County Administration to launch the Transform Howard Initiative, which continues to bridge the digital divide within the County. This was evident as her team worked closely with the Howard County Public School System to enhance and build out their internet services, allowing all students were able to connect into the classroom virtually.

In March of 2023 Ganz became the 2nd woman to serve as Chief Administrative Officer for the County.

In County Administration she oversees the following offices: Law, Budget, Procurement, Human Resources, Human Rights and Equity, Transportation, Community Sustainability, Workforce Development, Fleet, Mail Services, Public Information, and Staff Services. She also oversees the following Departments: Technology and Communication Services, Finance, and Recreation and Parks.

In addition to the offices and departments, she also oversees Public Safety for the County. This includes Police, Fire and Corrections.

She also oversees Labor Management and serves as a Trustee of both the Howard County Employees’ Pension Plan and the Howard County Police and Fire Pension Plan.

About

A. Raul Delerme is the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. Delerme has been with the county since 1990, most recently serving as the Director of Recreation & Parks. In that role, he oversaw over 1,200 employees and was responsible for the maintenance and operation of over 100 parks and historic sites, the stewardship of 9,920 acres of recreation & park lands, over 10,000 recreation program offerings to be enjoyed by over 100,000 participants, and host of local, regional and national sporting and social events.

With 33 years of experience with Howard County Recreation and Parks, Delerme has served as a Director, a former Bureau Chief of Capital Projects, Park Planning & Construction, and a former Park Planner. Major improvements Delerme brought during his tenure with the department include building three community centers and Meadowbrook Athletic Complex, creating three new regional parks (Western Regional, Troy, and Blandair), providing a greater variety of amenities within each park, and the opening of the new Harriet Tubman Cultural Center.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture from Penn State University. 

About

Jamar Herry has been working in the Howard County Government since September 2017.  Mr. Herry is currently a Deputy Chief Administrative Officer (DCAO) with the Department of County Administration.  In this role, he provides oversight to various County Departments and Offices.  In addition, Mr. Herry provides guidance and review of County policies and procedures.  Further, he manages labor relations with the unions within Howard County Government. 

Prior to serving as a DCAO, he worked in the Howard County Office of Law as a Senior Assistant County Solicitor.  His primary responsibility, as a Senior Assistant County Solicitor, was to provide legal advice and legal representation on personnel matters to County Departments, County Offices, and the County Council.  

Before Mr. Herry joined the Howard County Government, he worked for the Prince George’s County Office of Law from 2008 to 2017 as an Associate County Attorney.  In this role, he advised and represented Prince George’s County Departments on personnel matters, served as a legal advisor to the Prince George’s County Police Department, and represented the Prince George’s County of Department of Social Services in Child in Need of Assistance and Adult Protective Services cases.     

Mr. Herry is a member of the Maryland State Bar, United States District Court of Maryland Bar, and the Bar for the United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.  He received his Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. 

About

Patrick Pope is a Certified Internal Auditor who serves as an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for the Howard County Department of County Administration. Mr. Pope has a combined 10 years of local governmental experience, including previous roles in the legislative branch, and the school system. Those experiences provide a broad and invaluable perspective to the day-to-day responsibilities of an ACAO.

In Mr. Pope’s previous career, he was a professional international basketball player for 9 years, with stops in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and the Czech Republic.

Mr. Pope is a proud HBCU graduate, with an accounting degree from Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons, watching sports, exercising, and cooking.