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Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism

Purpose of the Commission

As one of 52 State Service Commissions, the Maryland State Service Commission includes the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism and the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism. The commission was created and appointed by the Governor in 1994 to review and approve all AmeriCorps State funding in Maryland and to serve as a body of ambassadors for service and volunteerism in local communities. With the Governor’s approval, the Commission may apply to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that manages AmeriCorps, and other public and private sources for additional funding. Under the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, Governor-appointed service commissions are required to oversee each state’s AmeriCorps activities and resources. The Act also requires each state to develop, update, and implement a three-year strategic plan for service which sets funding and program priorities for allocation of AmeriCorps funds and promotes volunteerism and community service broadly. Learn about the Commission’s 2020-2022 State Service Plan–outlining strategies and priorities created through a public input process.

Upcoming Meetings

MEETING DATE LOCATION TIME MEETING MINS/RECORDING
December 8, 2022 Towson University (hybrid meeting) 10:00 AM Copy Clipboard, Memory, Editor, Copy, Paste, Document Vector SVG Icon - SVG  Repo
March 9, 2023 Equity Now/ Legends Charter School (hybrid meeting) 9:30 AM File:Speaker Icon.svg - Wikipedia
May 11, 2023 Chesapeake College (hybrid meeting) 9:30 AM
October 12, 2023  Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission (hybrid meeting) 9:30 AM
December 7, 2023 Register for this meeting here 9:30 AM
*Please Note. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Commissioners

The Commission consists of Governor-appointed representatives and community members, with significant experience and knowledge of issues related to service and volunteerism, who serve three-year terms.

Executive Committee

John Palinski, Chair

Arundhati (Aru) Rao, Co-Chair

Brian Pham, Secretary

Joshua (Josh) Pedersen,  Immediate Past Chair

Members

Mei Cobb

Henry Coppola

Siobhan Davenport

Candyce Harris

Molly Hilligoss 

Christopher (Chris) Lidard

Kelly MacBride-Gill

Lauren McKinley

David (Dave) Slaughter

Carol Ann Smith

Jerome Tennille

Alison Vogrin

Customer Service Promise

The State of Maryland pledges to provide constituents, businesses, customers, and stakeholders with friendly and courteous, timely and responsive, accurate and consistent, accessible and convenient, and truthful and transparent services.
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