Distinguished Guest Speakers Highlight Maryland Certified Public Manager Program Luncheon, Feb. 18
February 3, 2021
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
The Maryland Certified Public Manager® Program (CPMP), offered by the Schaefer Center for Public Policy at The University of Baltimore, will welcome R. Dean Kenderdine, executive director of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, and Chichi Nyagah-Nash, director of the Department of General Services for the City of Baltimore, as panelists for its inaugural Leadership Luncheon – The Leadership Journey, on Thursday, Feb. 18 beginning at 11:30 a.m. The event is open to members of the CPMP Class of 2021.
Kenderdine is chief executive officer of the State Retirement and Pension System as well as secretary to its Board of Trustees. He was named executive director in 2007. The retirement system administers retirement, disability, and death benefits on behalf of more than 400,000 active, vested, and retired State of Maryland employees, teachers, state police, correctional officers, other law enforcement officers, judges and legislators. He is an active member of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA) and the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR) Kenderdine has served on the Executive Committee for NASRA and serves on the Legislative Committee for the NCTR. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Goodwill Industries of Chesapeake, and has previously served on several other non-profit organization boards. Kenderdine holds a master's degree from the University of Maryland and a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University. He is an Advisory Board member for the Schaefer Center for Public Policy.
As the Director of the Department of General Services (DGS), Nyagah-Nash oversees an agency that is responsible for providing support services to the City's departments as well as the mayoral and councilmanic offices.
With an undergraduate degree in International Business Administration from Alliant International University and an MBA (concentration in Human Resources) from Johns Hopkins University, Nyagah-Nash worked in several organizations prior to joining the public sector. Her experience and expertise include affirmative action and equal employment opportunities, corporate ethics and compliance, program management and security and investigation consulting. Nyagah-Nash is a graduate of the Maryland Certified Public Manager® Program and is a member of the Schaefer Center Advisory Board. She serves on the Boards of Friends of Great Kids Farm and Business Volunteers Maryland. In 2018, the Maryland Daily Record recognized Nyagah-Nash as one of Maryland's Leading Women.
The next class (cohort) Maryland Certified Public Manager® will start in August 2021. Learn more about the program. Questions about the program may be addressed to Ann Cotten, director of the Schaefer Center for Public Policy and the Maryland Certified Public Manager® Program, at marylandcpm@ubalt.edu, or Diane Geiman, training manager, at dgeiman@ubalt.edu.
Established in 1985, the William Donald Schaefer Center for Public Policy is Maryland's preeminent applied research and policy analysis center. As part of The University of Baltimore's College of Public Affairs, the Schaefer Center promotes excellence in Maryland's public and nonprofit organizations through applied research, technical assistance, policy analysis, policy conferences, and professional development programs.
Learn more about the College of Public Affairs.