Howard County lawmakers have recommended three residents to fill vacancies on the community college board, which likely will have to confront questions about the controversial tenure of President Daria Willis in the coming year.

The county’s three state senators are urging Gov. Wes Moore to appoint immigration attorney Alicia Altamirano, public policy expert Michele Douglas and state labor official Daniel Newberger to fill the open seats on the Howard Community College board.

The vacancies were created by the abrupt resignations last fall of three members of the seven-member board. The Baltimore Banner reported in November that about two dozen current and former HCC employees and students described high staff turnover and a toxic culture under Willis that they said negatively affected staff and student services.

A defiant Willis said at a charity event this fall that she was staying put “unless you pay me out.” Willis, the first Black woman to lead HCC, was hired about three years ago, and her contract was recently extended to June 2028. She earns $325,000 a year.

After The Banner’s story was published, County Executive Calvin Ball issued a letter praising what he called “significant progress on improving student lives” under Willis’ stewardship. Meanwhile, the controversy appeared to get the attention of local lawmakers, who introduced legislation to expand the board in addition to moving to fill vacancies

State Sens. Katie Fry Hester, Clarence Lam and Guy Guzzone, all Democrats, sent their recommendations Wednesday morning to the Governor’s Appointments Office.

“We have confidence in their ability to reflect our community, address important priorities in support of the College, and are ideally suited to serve on this Board,” the senators wrote in their letter to the appointments office.

Trustees are recommended for appointment by the county’s state senators and appointed by the governor for six-year terms. The board hires the college president.

The three nominees are all longtime county residents.

Altamirano is a prominent local attorney with expertise in immigration law, while Douglas is a public policy expert, having recently served as a founding partner at Public Policy Partners LLC. Newberger is the state’s deputy assistant secretary of labor.

The recommendations come roughly two months after The Banner reported on Willis’ turbulent tenure.

Critics have taken to an anonymous message board to voice their concerns about Willis. While most focused on her leadership style, some referred to “racist hiring” or even called Willis racist, prompting a rebuke from the college’s spokesman and the full board of trustees.

The senators unanimously approved their recommendations to Moore after months of reviewing potential appointees and discussion.

“We appreciate your favorable consideration of these highly-qualified nominees,” the senators wrote to the appointments office.

As an immigration attorney, Altamirano serves clients in immigration proceedings, asylum and visa requests and family law. Before this, Altamirano served as the legal director at the nonprofit Luminus Network for New Americans. Luminus has worked with immigrants in the county from over 90 countries for over four decades.

She also has had roles in the Howard County Democratic Central Committee, the Maryland Democratic Party’s Latino Diversity Leadership Council, and on Ball’s transition team for his first term.

As a public policy expert, Douglas successfully advocated for legislation that expanded access to and protections for earned sick leave, established Maryland’s Alzheimer’s Disease commission and brought quality enhancements in long-term care facilities and programs.

Douglas is also a former director of public policy for the AIDS Administration in the state’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the state policy director of the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Maryland Chapter. She also worked at Planned Parenthood of Maryland.

An Ellicott City resident, Douglas is “honored” by the nomination and, if appointed, looks forward to working with fellow board colleagues, the president, students and faculty.

“We in Howard County are very lucky to have a very diverse and vibrant community,” Douglas said. “I believe very strongly in education of all kinds and I think this is an opportunity to blend my beliefs in education and serve members of my community.”

In addition to his post in the labor department, Newberger serves as chair of the Community Advisory Council, an educational advocacy group that provides feedback to the Howard County Board of Education. He has led efforts to implement the department’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program for nearly two years.

A Navy veteran, Newberger previously worked for Amazon Web Services, the Social Security Administration and Booz Allen Hamilton. He also worked as a director of operations at the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute and for Communities in Schools of Chicago.

In November, the senators announced they would push to increase the size of the college’s board from seven to nine members. Their proposed legislation specifies that the terms for the newly added members end in 2032 and 2033.

Willis gave her full support to expanding the board in December.

The board unanimously chose Willis in 2021 as the fifth president of the college, which opened in 1970 and serves more than 13,000 students. She previously was president of Everett Community College in Washington state.

All three board members who resigned testified in support of the proposed bill in November.

Sean Keller, a former board chairman, testified that the current number of members is “too small” and places a burden on those who serve in a volunteer capacity.

Keller, and his departed board colleagues, M. Shafeeq Ahmed and Christopher Marasco have not spoken about why they resigned or responded to requests for comment.