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Maryland State Department of Education

Marcy Leonard

Member, Maryland State Board of Education
Email
[email protected]

About

Term: 2026 - 2030, Howard County

Member, Strategy & Operations Committee

Marcy Leonard has been a resident of Howard County, Maryland, for over 40 years and served as the first Student Member on the Howard County Board of Education. After earning a B.A. in history from Haverford College and an M.A. in social studies education from Wake Forest University, Marcy returned to Howard County to join the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS).

She served HCPSS for 30 years as a social studies teacher, school principal, and Community Superintendent. As principal of three high-needs schools, Marcy closed opportunity and achievement gaps in graduation rate, dropout rate, Advanced Placement participation, and Dual Enrollment participation for students from historically underrepresented groups. As Community Superintendent, Marcy was responsible for the leadership of a diverse group of early childhood programs, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, the Applied Research Laboratory, and the Homewood Center for Alternative Education.

Marcy is presently serving as the Chief Operating Officer, Public Services for Howard County Library System. In this role, she is responsible for all of the public library branches as well as the curricular programming for HCLS. She has initiated systems to support expanding the library’s reach in the community, including Metrics That Matter aligned with the HCLS Strategic Plan, an equity-focused community outreach program, early childhood programming aligned to the Maryland Early Learning Standards, professional development for library staff, and co-governance with 140+ youth through the Elkridge Teen Internship to envision the first teen-developed space in Howard County.

Marcy is active in the community, serving on the Board of Directors for Maryland Leadership Workshops and OhanaHC. She is a graduate of the Leadership Howard County Premier program and has served as a leadership coach to students and educational leaders. She was recognized as Howard Magazine’s Principal of the Year 12 times and was also honored with The Washington Post’s Distinguished Educational Leadership Award, Maryland Parent Teacher Association Educator of the Year, Baltimore Touchdown Club Principal of the Year, Arts Education in Maryland Schools Principal of the Year, Bright Minds Educational Foundation Outstanding HCPSS Alumni Award, and City Gives Woman of Impact Leadership Award.