Lieutenant Governor-Elect Miller, Other Alumni Poised to Take Office

Lieutenant Governor-elect Aruna Miller (CORE 2013) leads the list of Leadership Montgomery (LM) alumni who were successful in their bids for election to public office. More than 20 LM alums from three of LM’s leadership programs were on the ballot during yesterday’s general election.* (Nearly 40 appeared on the ballot for the primary back in July).

LM’s mission is to connect and prepare leaders to build thriving and inclusive workplaces and communities.

By gathering leaders across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, The organization offers a unique opportunity for participants to engage in collaborative discussions providing unique perspectives that create solutions to challenges facing our region.

“For more than 30 years, our organization has been the gathering place for leaders who want to grow and make change in their community,” said Dana Pauley, President and CEO. “No matter the sector, participants strengthen their leadership through our programs. We are truly excited to see how these (and all) alumni will put their leadership to use for the greater good of our community.”


Aspirations for political office vary. Some enter the program already serving as elected officials, while others decide to get involved after completing the program. Regardless of the timeline and reason, LM has always worked to support the needs of our county’s cross-sector leaders.


Once the results are certified, Miller will be the first LM grad elected to the position. Two of her classmates, Marc Korman (CORE 2013) and Karla Silvestre (CORE 2013), were also successful in their bids for reelection to the MD House of Delegates and Montgomery County School Board, respectively. Other classes with multiple candidates on the ballot were CORE 2005, CORE 2017, and CORE 2020.


Come December, seven of the 11 Montgomery County Council members will have participated in an LM Leadership Program: Gabe Albornoz (CORE 2008), Marilyn Balcombe (CORE 2000), Andrew Friedson (CORE 2020), Evan Glass (CORE 2010), Natali Fani-Gonzalez (CORE 2021), Laurie-Anne Sayles (CORE 2017) and Kate Stewart (CORE 2020).


When election results become official, LM will have alumni representation in the Montgomery County Council, Montgomery County Board of Education, MD House of Representatives, MD Senate, and the office of MD Lieutenant Governor. Below is a list of alums who are poised to take office:


*LM does not, nor has it ever endorsed any candidate for political office.

Board of Education

Grace

Rivera Oven

CORE 1996


Board of Education

Karla

Silvestre

CORE 2013


Board of Education

Brenda

Wolff

SLM 2018


Board of Education

Julie

Yang

CORE 2020


County Council

Gabe

Albornoz

CORE 2008


County Council

Marilyn

Balcombe

CORE 2000


County Council

Natali

Fani Gonzalez

CORE 2021


County Council

Andrew

Friedson

CORE 2020


County Council

Evan

Glass

CORE 2010


County Council

Laurie-Anne

Sayles

CORE 2017


County Council

Kate

Stewart

CORE 2020


Lieutenant Governor

Aruna

Miller

CORE 2013


MD House of Delegates

David

Fraser-Hildago

CORE 2008


MD House of Delegates

Anne

Kaiser

CORE 2005


MD House of Delegates

Aaron

Kaufman

EL 2015


MD House of Delegates

Ariana

Kelly

CORE 2014


MD House of Delegates

Marc

Korman

CORE 2013


MD House of Delegates

Lily

Qi

CORE 2005


MD House of Delegates

Jheanelle

Wilkins

CORE 2020


MD Senate

Cheryl

Kagan

CORE 2002


Related Posts


By N/A N/A October 3, 2025
Welcome alumni! We’ve compiled a list of various resources to continue your leadership development. Below, you will find videos, podcasts, books, websites, and blogs to review at your leisure. Some resources are from LM (session day presentations, event recordings, etc.) while others are from outside resources discovered over the years by our staff and alumni. This library is constantly growing so please bookmark this page so you can check back often. Also, if you know of a great resource not listed here, please let us know so others may benefit.
By N/A N/A October 3, 2025
Montgomery County Updates
By N/A N/A October 3, 2025
If you would like to post a job opening in the public, private, or nonprofit sector, please email info with a short description and web links to kaarmin.ford@leadermont.org
Show More