MD Senate Confirms Dennis R. Schrader as Secretary of Health
Governor Larry Hogan today issued the following statement on the confirmation of Dennis R. Schrader as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health by the Maryland Senate:
“Secretary Schrader has served the citizens of Maryland well and faithfully during the biggest public health challenge we have ever faced, and I am very proud of the work he and his entire department are doing to save lives every day,” said Governor Hogan. “I would like to thank President Ferguson and members of the Maryland Senate for recognizing that Secretary Schrader is the right leader to continue steering the state’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dennis has never wavered in his decades-long commitment to the people of Maryland.”
Biography of Secretary Dennis R. Schrader:
Dennis R. Schrader has served in numerous executive roles since moving to Maryland after active duty Navy service in 1987. Schrader has served in the Hogan administration as Deputy Secretary for Policy, Planning & Enterprise Services at the Department of Transportation, Appointments Secretary, and Chief Operating Officer for the Maryland Department of Health.
In 16 years at the University of Maryland Medical System Corporation, he held several key executive roles and was publicly credited with being a key member of the executive team that transformed the University of Maryland Medical Center into its current status as a prominent, nationally recognized institution. He led the medical center through five successful JCAHO Environment of Care reviews, while continuously improving the medical center’s capabilities.
As Maryland’s first Director of Homeland Security under Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., he is credited with establishing the office as well as introducing efforts to develop information sharing capabilities and interoperable communications within the state.
Secretary Schrader was subsequently recommended by Secretary Chertoff and appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as Deputy Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 17, 2007. While at FEMA after Hurricane Katrina, he led the interagency effort to revise and update the National Response Plan that resulted in the current National Response Framework.
