Choptank Electric Hires Grassroots Veteran to Engage Membership
Choptank Electric Cooperative has hired Valerie Connelly as the new Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, who will begin her duties on Monday, July 1, 2019.
Prior to this new position, Connelly was the Executive Director for the Maryland Farm Bureau, which is a grassroots organization that promotes the policies and views of its members at the local, state, and federal levels of government on behalf of more than 26,000 farm and rural families.
Serving on staff with the Maryland Farm Bureau since May of 1995, Connelly served as Executive Director for the Maryland Farm Bureau since November 2013. Her extensive experience includes serving as the Legislative Director for three members of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill for 10 years, and she served as primary staff contact for the Energy & Commerce Committee, the Banking & Financial Services Committee, and the Judiciary Committee.
In addition, she served on the Governor’s Commission on Migratory and Seasonal Farm Labor, has served as 1st Vice Chair of the FORVM for Rural Maryland and as a member of the Maryland Air Quality Control Advisory Council.
She has also been a member of the Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Management Advisory Committee, the Task Force on Agricultural Land Preservation and the American Farm Bureau Federation’s General Counsel Advisory Committee. Currently, Valerie serves on the steering committee to implement the Maryland Agricultural Commission’s Strategic Plan for Agriculture and is on the board of the LEAD Maryland Foundation. Valerie holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Political Science from American University.
“We are very pleased that Valerie is joining the Choptank Electric team,” said Mike Malandro, President and CEO of Choptank Electric Cooperative. “We are looking forward to engaging with our local representatives, political leaders, and our members to bring about positive change.”
She resides in Cecil County, Maryland with her husband, Steve.