Maryland Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman to Serve as Keynote Speaker for Howard Community College Commencement
Maryland Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman will salute 1,160 graduates of Howard Community College (HCC) as the keynote speaker for its 55th commencement exercises on Friday, May 22, 2026, at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus, beginning at 10 a.m.
"Every graduate crossing our stage on May 22 is changing the financial future of a family and adding strength to Howard County's economy," said HCC President Daria J. Willis. "Comptroller Lierman understands that work at the policy level and at the kitchen-table level. We are honored to welcome her to Dragon Country to celebrate our scholars and professionals as they move to the next chapter of their academic journeys or enter the workforce."
Lierman is the 34th Comptroller of Maryland and the first woman independently elected to one of the state’s constitutional offices. She leads an agency of 1,200 public servants across 12 offices statewide. An attorney by training, Lierman practiced civil rights and disability rights law before her election to public office.
She served eight years in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing part of Baltimore City, holding leadership roles on Appropriations, Environment, and Transportation Committees, and chairing the Joint Committee on Pensions. During her tenure, she passed landmark legislation on transit, broadband, criminal justice reform, and public education.
Lierman grew up in Montgomery County and graduated from Dartmouth College. She participated in the AmeriCorps VISTA program, worked on federal campaigns, and spent a year at the Center for American Progress before attending the University of Texas School of Law.
She lives in downtown Baltimore with her husband and two children.