Susan O’Brien, who has played a variety of high-profile roles in state and local government and the nonprofit world, is stepping down from her position as communications director for the city of Annapolis, Mayor Gavin Buckley (D) announced Tuesday.
Buckley said O’Brien’s last day as the city’s spokeswoman, as well as managing the Annapolis city government TV station, speech writing, social media, and other communication tasks, will be Jan. 4. She has worked with Buckley since he took office a year ago.
“Susan was instrumental in helping this administration get off the ground running and I sincerely appreciate the enthusiasm and professionalism that she brought to this team,” Buckley said in a statement. “I am fortunate that we were able to utilize her skills and experience as a longtime government and nonprofit public relations professional.”
Buckley said a replacement for O’Brien will be announced in the coming weeks.
O’Brien has a long and varied resume in Maryland. Prior to working for Buckley, she was the chief fundraiser for state Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D).
As a public relations consultant, her clients included the Maryland Tourism Coalition, the Maryland Athletic Trainers Association, The Arc Maryland, Best Buddies Maryland, Upstream Alliance, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, American Cancer Society, and numerous other organizations.
O’Brien is a former assistant press secretary to ex-Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D), and also served as a media spokeswoman for several state agencies. She also managed Maryland media relations for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for several years and served as assistant vice president for State Government Relations for University of Maryland University College and as vice president of Public Affairs for the Health Facilities Association of Maryland.
“More news to come in the future,” O’Brien teased on Facebook Tuesday.
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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