BALTIMORE (Jan. 10, 2023) — Today, Governor-Elect Wes Moore announced the appointment of Senator Susan Lee as Maryland’s next Secretary of State, who is set to become Maryland’s first Asian American Secretary of State. Sen. Lee has a decades-long record of public service and will head into the Administration with a wealth of experience at her disposal. 

“Senator Susan Lee has been a force in Maryland for decades and I’m honored to have her join my Administration as Maryland’s next Secretary of State,” said Governor-Elect Wes Moore. “I know with Sen. Lee alongside me, we will swiftly create an economically thriving Maryland that leaves no one behind.”

“I’m so excited to work alongside Governor Wes Moore as Maryland’s next Secretary of State to bring real change to our communities,” said Senator Susan Lee. “On day one, we’ll be ready to hit the ground running to create an economically thriving state that leaves no one behind–one that puts our working families first and sends a clear message to businesses that we are ready to get to work.”

Senator Susan Lee, Secretary of State

Susan C. Lee was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2002 and to the Senate in 2014 to represent District 16 and has been described as a leader in the General Assembly on cyber security and innovation, identity theft, online fraud, consumer protection, pay equity, and gun safety and laws to fight domestic violence, sexual assault, human and labor trafficking, child and senior abuse, and hate crimes. She also has led efforts to promote bioscience, nanobiotechnology, telehealth, IT, and emerging technologies.   Co-Chair of the Maryland Cybersecurity Council Law & Policy Subcommittee, Co-Chair of the Maryland Commission on Cyber Security, Innovation and Excellence, and as Co-Chair of the Maryland Identity Theft Task Force, Susan has authored and led efforts to pass major laws to protect Marylanders against cyber attacks and terrorism, ransomware, identity theft, and online fraud, and assist victims of those crimes.  

Susan was the lead senate sponsor of the Maryland Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, True Freedom Act, and Anti-Exploitation Act and laws to ban ghost guns, require background checks on long gun sales, and to empower women, children, families, and all hardworking individuals. 

Susan, an attorney, is the first Asian American elected to the Senate and Chinese American to the General Assembly.  She is the Senate Majority Whip and is a Member of the Governor’s Family Violence Council, the first and past Chairman of the Maryland Legislative Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus and past President of the Women’s Legislative Caucus (Women Legislators of Maryland). 

Susan is the daughter of a World War II veteran of the US Navy and retired Washington Post artist, and a proud product of the Montgomery County public schools, Leland Junior High School, Herbert Hoover Junior High, and Winston Churchill High School. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of San Francisco School of Law. Having served in both the public and private sectors, Susan was an attorney with the US Commission on Civil Rights and the US Patent and Trademark Office and practiced law with Washington Attorney Joseph Gebhardt. She was appointed to serve on the United States Patent and Trademark Advisory Board during the Clinton Administration.  Susan was a member of the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board, Jewish Foundation for Group Homes Board,  Progressive Maryland, Co-Chair of the Montgomery County NAACP Multicultural Community Partnership, President of Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Greater Washington Area, and Board Member of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. Susan represents District 16, which includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Friendship Heights, Potomac, Rockville, Cabin John, and Glen Echo. She and her Earl Ing husband live in Bethesda.

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Wes Moore is the Governor-Elect of the State of Maryland. He is a U.S. Army combat veteran who led soldiers in combat with the 82nd Airborne Division, a Rhodes Scholar, former small business owner, and former CEO of one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations. Learn more at www.wesmoore.com.