‘What’s Happening at the MACo Conference?’ With Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and Several Montgomery County and State Leaders Is Latest Edition of ‘What’s Happening MoCo’ Podcast

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is one of the featured guests in the latest edition of the What’s Happening MoCo podcast that includes interviews with Montgomery County and State leaders that were recorded live at the recent Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) summer conference in Ocean City. Attorney General Brown shared details of his role in protecting Marylanders from scammers and crooks, as well as, an ambitious initiative to examine the problem of over-incarceration, particularly among young African American men.

In the podcast, which is now available, Attorney General Brown said that his team is asking, “What are the issues that contribute to the problem and how can … we start addressing the problem of reducing the incarceration rate, reducing racial disparities in incarceration while at the same time maintaining a high level of public safety.”

MACo is a nonprofit and non-partisan organization that serves Maryland’s counties by articulating the needs of local government to the Maryland General Assembly. The association’s membership consists of county elected officials and representatives from Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City. Through MACo’s advocacy, training, education programs and annual conferences, members are provided with opportunities to improve their capacity to serve residents.

Attorney General Brown’s interview is included in the first of a two-part series that originated from the MACo conference. The episode also includes interviews with government leaders including Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson; Jon Monger, director of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection; Sarah Kogel-Smucker, Montgomery County’s climate change officer; Patrick Sawyer from the Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation; and Michelle Whittaker, chief of staff for County Councilmember Will Jawando.

To hear the full What’s Happening MoCo podcast via a podcast platform, options include Apple Podcasts at https://bit.ly/whats-happening-moco, Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/68ULmxWRpmiav5qeIUfBpP, Amazon Music (ask Alexa to play the What’s Happening MoCo podcast), iHeartRadio, TuneIn and others.

The video version of the podcast can be viewed on the What’s Happening MoCo Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WhatsHappeningMoCoPodcast or on County Cable Montgomery (Xfinity channel 996, RCN channel 1056 or Verizon channel 30). 

According to MACo’s website, the summer conference brought together approximately 3,000 leaders from many levels of government and the private sector. With four days of educational sessions, there were two exhibit shows that included more than 350 vendors, numerous briefings, meetings and opportunities to connect with county elected officials and key government officials.

Residents interested in asking a question or suggesting a topic to be addressed in a future episode of the What’s Happening MoCo podcast are encouraged to engage via the Facebook page, group or via e-mail at [email protected].  

In past episodes, podcast host Derrick Kenny has addressed a wide variety of subjects. The show’s guests have included elected officials, Montgomery County employees who specialize in specific aspects of government, business leaders, entertainers and residents.  New podcasts are released twice a month. 

The What’s Happening MoCo podcast episode archives can be accessed by visiting the podcast’s webpage at https://montgomerycountymd.gov/CCM/whats-happening-moco-podcast.html. 

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Release ID: 24-395
Media Contact: Neil H. Greenberger 240-205-1915
Categories: Consumer