Team

The Honorable Dr. Calvin Ball is a Maryland native and resident of Columbia for over 20 years. He and his wife Shani Ball, RN, M.S., are proud parents of two daughters who attend and graduated from Howard County Public Schools and Howard Community College. He made history in 2006 when he was elected as the youngest Council Chairperson in Howard County history. He made history again in 2018 by becoming the first African American to be elected as Howard County Executive.

Re-elected in 2022, Dr. Ball remains dedicated to ensuring our communities are safe, strong, and accessible for all. Howard County continues to be a regional, national, and global leader, as County Executive Ball continues to champion economic development, education, environmental conservation, the health and well-being of our residents, investments in public safety and fiscal responsibility. Transformational vision builds the best communities, and his team has implemented innovative programs and policy solutions that are data-informed and people driven. He and his team have prioritized growing ready and successful students, fostering safe and engaged communities, creating a clean and sustainable environment, supporting thriving and healthy residents, building reliable and accessible infrastructure, promoting a strong and prosperous business climate, and leading an innovative and efficient government.

During his first term as Howard County Executive, he and his team led a robust and nationally recognized response to COVID-19 pandemic. Now, in his second term, he continues to innovatively lead a transformative pandemic recovery to ensure Howard County’s best days are ahead. He achieves these by positioning himself as a world leader for industries such as cybersecurity, including speaking in Germany at the it-sa conference, the largest cybersecurity conference in the world.

County Executive Ball is currently serving as Past President of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), where he serves on a six-member Executive Committee. This committee oversees its fiscal, personnel, and management concerns as well as advocating for the shared legislative agenda for all 24 jurisdictions across the state. In 2012, he founded the Diversity Caucus of MACo, the first statewide caucus for county elected officials of color. He also participated in the National Association of Counties and Gates Foundation “Economic Mobility Leadership Network” to explore the role counties can play to positively affect economic mobility. Ball was also the 2023 Chair of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC).He is also engaged with the National Association of Counties (NACo) and recently participated in a county executive’s roundtable at Harvard University, where leaders across the nation discussed best practices and policy implementation.

During Howard County Executive Calvin Ball’s tenure, Howard County achieved numerous accolades, including Best Place to Live, Best City for Jobs, Best City in Maryland for People Living with Disabilities, Safety City in Maryland, Strongest Complete Streets Policy, Columbia Received a Perfect Score on Human Rights Campaign Index, and first County in the nation to receive LEED Platinum certification.

County Executive Ball, who is a certified mediator, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religion from Towson State University, a Master of Arts in Legal and Ethical Studies from the University of Baltimore, where he was nominated for the Spirit of Excellence Award, and a Doctor of Education from Morgan State University.

Brandee Ganz served as the County’s Chief Information Officer from 2019 –2023, where she managed more than 100 employees within the Department of Technology and Communication Services. During that time, she oversaw numerous projects and initiatives, helping to ensure the County’s Information Technology (IT) needs and standards were met and maintained.

During her tenure at the Department, her team’s focus was to ensure the safety of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, while keeping all County services safe and secure. Ganz led efforts to move the County’s workforce to a remote environment, without service interruption to staff or residents.

With the need to move all government meetings online during quarantine, but still allow for transparency and public input, her team quickly built a digital platform allowing all meetings and events to be hosted virtually. This included County Council meetings, budget meetings, board meetings, and several townhall events to provide crucial information to the community.

Also, during this time, her team partnered with County Administration to launch the Transform Howard Initiative, which continues to bridge the digital divide within the County. This was evident as her team worked closely with the Howard County Public School System to enhance and build out their internet services, allowing all students were able to connect into the classroom virtually.

In March of 2023 Ganz became the 2nd woman to serve as Chief Administrative Officer for the County.

In County Administration she oversees the following offices: Law, Budget, Procurement, Human Resources, Human Rights and Equity, Transportation, Community Sustainability, Workforce Development, Fleet, Mail Services, Public Information, and Staff Services. She also oversees the following Departments: Technology and Communication Services, Finance, and Recreation and Parks.

In addition to the offices and departments, she also oversees Public Safety for the County. This includes Police, Fire and Corrections.

She also oversees Labor Management and serves as a Trustee of both the Howard County Employees’ Pension Plan and the Howard County Police and Fire Pension Plan.

Rafiu O. Ighile is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Maryland with an MBA and more than 30 years of accounting experience in government, not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. Mr. Ighile is the Director of Finance for Howard County Government Maryland. Prior to that he was the Director of Finance and Administration for the City of Gaithersburg, where he oversaw the Finance, Budget and Procurement functions. Before joining the City of Gaithersburg, Rafiu worked for Howard Public School System (HCPSS) as their Chief Financial Officer. While working as CFO for the Howard County Public School System, managed Finance, Budget, Benefits, and Technology functions. He previously served as the Deputy Director of Finance for Howard County Government where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department. Rafiu served on the Executive Board of Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and is a current member of the Maryland GFOA Board of Directors.  He is also a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Maryland Association of CPAs.

Angela M. Price was appointed the Deputy Director of Finance for Howard County Government in 2018. She has worked for Howard County for 20 years, serving in prior capacities as the Assistant Director of Finance/Controller, Bureau Chief of Accounting and Reporting and Division Chief of Financial Reporting. In these roles, she was responsible for overseeing General Accounting, Capital Projects and Fixed Assets, Grants Accounting, Pensions and OPEB Accounting, and Financial Reporting. Ms. Price was previously employed by the State of Maryland Department of Legislative Services where she served as a Senior Auditor from 2002 to 2005 and Staff Auditor from 1999 to 2002. While at DLS, Ms. Price conducted fiscal/compliance and financial statement audits of various State agencies. Ms. Price holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Mount Saint Mary’s College, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Angela Moore was appointed Deputy Director of Finance for Howard County Government in 2023. She has worked for Howard County for 17 years, progressing from Fiscal Specialist to Deputy Director. During her tenure, she has held several key roles including Bureau Chief of Tax and Specialty Services, Bureau Chief of Accounting and Capital Projects, and Division Chief of Accounting. Mrs. Moore holds a Master of Science in Management from Notre Dame of Maryland University and a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from Coppin State University. She is also a Certified Public Finance Officer and Certified Government Financial Manager.