About Leronia A. Josey

“Most importantly, I learned that all of us everyday citizens have a role to play
in helping our society become what we think it ought to be. The building of a
community takes everyone, not just those elected to fulfill certain positions.”

Quote by Leronia A. Josey in the Montgomery County Business Gazette,
December 6, 2002, page 19 (upon graduating from Leadership Maryland).

Leronia Josey is a lawyer and management consultant with an extensive background in federal, state and local government, contracts, higher public education, corporate communications and advising small businesses and exempt organizations

As a lawyer in private practice, Josey represents small and minority businesses, clergy and churches helping them navigate the world of business finance and politics. For 15 years she served as General Counsel to the then 14,000 member Bethel AME Church in Baltimore (1988-2003), including three years as Chief Operating Officer (COO). In addition, she provided legal advice and assistance to the AME Connectional Church and to other clergy and churches across the country. Primarily, a transactional lawyer engaged in a civil practice, Josey has experience representing clients in administrative settings, courts, and local/ state legislative bodies.

Employment:

  • Oversaw government and community relations, negotiated cable franchises, and monitored regulatory compliance as Comcast’s first Maryland Delaware Regional Director of Government Relations (2000-2002)
  • Worked for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. as an Attorney- Adviser in HUD’s Legal Honors program (1978-1981);
  • Senior Counsel for the Maryland Department of Personnel –Office of the Attorney General (1987-1989).

Josey was the first female attorney appointed as a Commissioner to the Maryland Parole Commission, the parole authority for adults incarcerated in Maryland (1981-1987).

Prior to studying law at Syracuse University in a joint degree program in Public Administration with the Maxwell School, she taught school, worked as a case worker in Children’s Division of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, and for the Regional Planning Council, overseeing a program placing minority students in counties surrounding Baltimore City. She was an Intern with the Baltimore City Planning Department as part of her field work for graduate studies in social work.

Consultant Engagements:

  • Sub-contractor on minority business utilization ( disparity ) studies for the city (2000) and Baltimore County (2005)
  • Training officers, staff and members of  boards of directors of exempt organizations
  • Providing management advice and counsel to clients
  • Providing  government & community relations advice; public affairs strategies; crisis management
  • Resolving HUD audit exceptions  under Baltimore City’s  community development block grant program
  • Teaching contracts and choice of entity to women and minority business owners in a city certification program; currently  serving as the WBE on a collections contract for delinquent parking fines.

Community Activities:

  • Volunteer service as Commissioner. Maryland Higher Education Commission
  • Member of the Board of Leadership Maryland
  • Chair of the Baltimore County Board of Social Services
  • Member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland.  The USM Board of Regents is the governing body for 11 degree granting and two research  institutions in Maryland
  • Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bethel Outreach Center
  • Chair of the Baltimore County Commission on Human Relations
  • Vice-Chair of the Coppin State College (University) Foundation Development Board

A past Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of Bethel AME Church, Josey also held a seat on the Board of Directors of the Religious Educational Development Corporation (RED Board), a holding company for real property owned by the Second Episcopal District of the AME Church.

Volunteer Commitments:

  • Membership on the Government Relations Committee of the YMCA of Central Maryland
  • Membership on the Selection Committee of the Baltimore Incentive Awards Scholarship Program sponsored by the University of Maryland College Park
  • Former President of the National Association of Black Women Attorneys
  • Board of Visitors of Frostburg State University
  • Member of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee for the Baltimore City Community College (BCCC)
  • Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the  Baltimore Annual Conference of  AME Churches located in the state of   Maryland
  • Chair of the Coppin State University Presidential  Search and Screening Committee
  • Member of the Board of Visitors, Frostburg State University

Education:

  • Juris Doctorate (JD) degree, Cum Laude, from Syracuse University College of Law (1977)
  • Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Government at Syracuse
  • Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Maryland School of Social Work
  • Bachelor’s Degree (BA) in Political Science from Spelman College in Atlanta
  • Josey completed Leadership America, a national leadership program for women, in 2001; and Leadership Maryland in 2002

In addition, she completed 40 hours of Mediation Training.

Awards and Honors:

She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including:

  • Maryland’s Top 100 Women  (1996 and 2008)
  • Maryland State Citation For Contributions in the  Law (2008)
  • Maryland Top 100 Minority Business Award (2007)
  • Maryland House of Delegates “Speaker Pro Tem” Award (2004)
  • Distinguished Black Marylander Award in Law  (2000)
  • The Fullwood Foundation Valued Hours Award (1992)
  • Aunt Hattie’s Place Heart of Love Award (1998)
  • The Bethel AME Church Distinguished Service Award (1996 & 1999)
  • The Distinguished Alumni Honoree Award from The National Conference on Higher Education ( 1991)