Nancy Kopp

 
Elected in February 2002, and re-elected to full four-year terms in 2003, 2007 and 2011, Nancy K. Kopp is the 23rd Maryland State Treasurer since the adoption of the Constitution of 185l. She is the second woman ever to serve as Maryland�s State Treasurer and is the only woman serving Maryland in a Constitutional Office. In addition to her responsibilities for managing the Office of State Treasurer, as a Constitutional Officer and a representative of the General Assembly, the Treasurer holds positions of leadership on a number of key State financial planning committees.

Treasurer Kopp chairs both the Capital Debt Affordability Committee and the Commission on State Debt, and is a member of Maryland�s Board of Revenue Estimates. She is the chief representative of the State dealing with financial rating agencies and investment banking firms. The Treasurer also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension Systems, as Chair of the College Savings Plans of Maryland and as a member of the Maryland Supplemental Retirement Board, the Maryland Health and Higher Education Financing Authority, the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation Board, the Small Business Development Financing Authority and the Hall of Records Commission. Unique among the Treasurer�s responsibilities is her position on the Board of Public Works with the Governor and the Comptroller of the State. This Board oversees a substantial portion of the procurements and contracts of the State ranging from wetlands licenses to construction projects.

Treasurer Kopp represented the Bethesda, Maryland area in the Maryland House of Delegates for 27 years prior to her election as Treasurer. As a member of the House of Delegates, Treasurer Kopp chaired the Joint Committee on Spending Affordability, as well as the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education and Economic Development. She also served on the Capital Budget Subcommittee, Subcommittee on Pensions, and Joint Committee on Budget and Audits, and, at various times, as Deputy Majority Leader and Speaker Pro Tem. During her legislative career, Treasurer Kopp was named by her colleagues as the most effective woman legislator and one of the 10 most effective members of the House.

Treasurer Kopp has been active in numerous national, regional and state organizations and boards over the years, primarily focused on finance, budgeting and education. Appointed by President Clinton to the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress (the �Nation�s Report Card�), Treasurer Kopp also served as Treasurer of the Southern Regional Education Board and chaired its Commission on Educational Quality. She served on the Executive Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures and chaired its Assembly on Legislative Issues, and Committees on Federal Budget Issues, State Fiscal Issues, and Capital Budgeting Procedures. Treasurer Kopp also was Vice-Chair of the National Commission on State and Local Budget and Finance Procedures. Currently, she is a member of the National Association of State Treasurers and chairs its Legislative Committee. She just completed a one year term as President of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers.

A graduate of Wellesley College, Treasurer Kopp holds a master�s degree in Government from the University of Chicago. She also has received honorary doctorate degrees from Hood College, the University of Maryland at Baltimore, the University of Maryland University College and Towson University. She is an honorary Alumna of the University of Maryland, College Park. Treasurer Kopp and her husband, Robert Kopp, live in Bethesda and have two adult children and two grandchildren.

Biography courtesy of the Maryland Commission for Women, 2012.

© Copyright Maryland State Archives, 2012