Executive Committee
Gareth E. Murray, M.Div., Ph.D., has over forty years combined experience in the fields of mental health, organization development, religion, and public service. During his twenty plus years in higher education, he served within the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Maryland, College Park; University of Southern California, where he was the first African American hired by the Counseling Center and The University of the District of Columbia. Due to his expertise in human and organizational behavior, Murray has served on staff and as a consultant to a wide range of private, public, and governmental agencies. Within the private sector, he served as Clinical Supervisor and Mid-Atlantic Region Clinical Accounts Manager for a national managed mental health and employee assistance provider. He then transitioned into the public sector as the Director of the Office of Stress Management for the Montgomery County, Maryland Police Department. In November of 2002 Murray won the general election for District 20 and in January of 2003 became the first of two African American Delegates in history to represent Montgomery County in the Maryland General Assembly. In 2007 Murray was appointed Director of Legislative Affairs for the Maryland Higher Education Commission and served in that position until January of 2013. In 1995, upon completion of seminary at Virginia Union University, he was called to serve as Assistant Pastor of The People’s Community Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland and in January of 2006 was appointed Associate Pastor at the First Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland where he continues to serve. A native Baltimorean and firm believer in education, Brother Dr. Murray has an earned Doctorate from Cornell University, a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from University of Maryland, College Park, and a Master of Divinity from Virginia Union University. Son of the late John C. and Augusta M. Murray, he resides in Montgomery County, Maryland with his wife.