County Executive Marc Elrich Appoints Dr. Earl Stoddard as Assistant Chief Administrative Officer

County Executive Marc Elrich Appoints Dr. Earl Stoddard as Assistant Chief Administrative Officer

Per Montgomery County:

For Immediate Release: Friday, July 23, 2021

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced today that he will nominate Dr. Earl Stoddard as Assistant Chief Administrative Officer (ACAO) following the resignation of Caroline Sturgis, who has served as one of three ACAOs since March 2019. This is Sturgis’ last week with Montgomery County and on July 26 Dr. Stoddard will assume her role as an ACAO until his nomination is confirmed by the County Council.

The ACAOs assist Chief Administrative Officer Richard Madaleno in supervising the daily operations and performance of County government and its departments and agencies.

Sturgis came to Montgomery County from the City of Baltimore, bringing over 20 years of local government experience with an extensive background in public finance and performance management. She has served Montgomery County with ACAO areas of responsibility including  Safe Neighborhoods and Thriving Youth and Families. Sturgis led the County’s Reimagining Public Safety Initiative as well as other major initiatives in areas such as education and health, working with internal and external stakeholders. Sturgis has accepted a position as Budget Director for the City of Port St. Lucie, Florida.

“I want to thank Caroline for her many contributions to my administration for more than two years. During her time as ACAO she has had a tremendous impact here in Montgomery County and helped launch some of our major initiatives, including Reimagining Public Safety. We have greatly appreciated Caroline’s knowledge and expertise, and I wish her well in future endeavors,” said County Executive Elrich. “I am pleased that Dr. Earl Stoddard will fill this position. Earl was critical in the County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination efforts that resulted among the best outcomes throughout this nation. I am confident that he will continue to succeed and serve our community well.”

Dr. Stoddard, who has been a key figure during the County’s response to the COVID-19 efforts, has served as the Director of the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security (OEMHS) since January 2016. In this capacity and as the Governor’s appointed Emergency Manager for the County, Dr. Stoddard has overseen the County’s emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery, and prevention programs. This includes leadership of the County Emergency Operations Center and OEMHS field operations. He played a major role in the coordination of the County’s response to numerous events including the January 2016 blizzard, Arliss Street building explosion and fire recovery, 2017 and 2021 Presidential Inaugurations, and the COVID-19 response and recovery.

From 2014 to 2015, Dr. Stoddard previously served as the program administrator for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (PHEPR) within the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). PHEPR maintains the County’s Public Health All Hazards Response Plan, builds the County capability to dispense medical countermeasures, and fosters partnerships with key county stakeholders, including the healthcare infrastructure and long-term care facilities. From 2009 to 2014, Dr. Stoddard worked with the University of Maryland Center of Health and Homeland Security first as a senior policy analyst and later as the program manager for Public Health Preparedness.

Dr. Stoddard earned his Bachelor of Science with a concentration in biotechnology from the University of Delaware in 2002, his doctorate in cell and molecular biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008, and his Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2009.