First Lady Moore Hosts Third Annual First Spouses Retreat
NGA’s Governor Office Engagement team holds multiple meetings and events each year designed to support Governors’ offices and their staff members. The meetings provide a robust networking forum and offer educational opportunities to support Governors’ staff members in their work helping Governors and First Spouses govern, further policy priorities and serve the residents of their states, commonwealths and territories.
NGA held its annual convening for Governors’ Schedulers, Executive Assistants, Residence Managers and First Spouses’ Staff in Annapolis, Maryland, April 15-16. The meeting offered the Governors’ staff members who serve in these roles the opportunity to share best practices and engage in peer-to-peer learning with their colleagues from other states.
Attendees participated in several sessions designed to help Governors’ staff members excel in their different roles. Areas of focus included:
- Implementing effective protocol practices and policies
- Preparing for life after executive service
- Working with state agencies to further the policy work of Governors and First Spouses
- Developing strategic scheduling strategies and best practices
- Transitioning a Governor’s Residence to a new administration
- Staffing the First Family
Staff members from the offices of Maryland Governor Wes Moore and First Lady Dawn Moore also led a special panel discussion to highlight some of the best practices their offices have developed to meet the scheduling and staffing needs of the First Family and further the policy goals and initiatives of Governor and Mrs. Moore.
During the convening, Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore welcomed the group to the Maryland Government House. Mrs. Moore thanked Governors’ and First Spouses’ staff members for their commitment to service and noted the convening served as an ideal forum to “work across party lines to find common ground.” Annapolis Mayor Jared Littmann and his wife Marlene Niefeld attended the event to join Mrs. Moore in welcoming Governors’ staff members to Annapolis.
Mrs. Moore also hosted the third annual First Spouses Retreat. The annual retreat serves as an opportunity for the nation’s First Spouses to gather to focus on the work they are leading, focusing especially on the initiatives they are championing in their home states. Delaware First Lady Lauren Meyer, North Carolina First Lady Anna Stein, Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt and South Dakota First Lady Sandy Rhoden attended this year’s retreat. As part of the meeting, the First Spouses visited the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore to highlight the announcement of a new expanded partnership between the State of Maryland and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maryland, which will create 100 new service positions in the Maryland Corps/Service Year Option program dedicated to providing mentorship and supporting the holistic health of Maryland’s youth. Together, the First Spouses participated in a roundtable discussion, toured the facility, and observed classroom instructional time and mental health coaching with Boys & Girls Club members.
For more information about the NGA’s resources and events for Governors’ Schedulers, Executive Assistants, Residence Managers and First Spouses’ Staff, contact GovEngagement@nga.org
