This event has passed
Date and Location
Jamel McMullin
Join the Taubman Center for State and Local Government for a special lunch with its visiting Fellows. This lunch offers a valuable opportunity to hear about each of their various experiences, roles, and how they can support the next generation of public service leaders.
**While registration is not required for attendance, we kindly ask you to register to help our center ensure accurate attendee numbers for catering arrangements.**
Samantha Silverberg served in the White House from 2021 to 2025, where she was the Special Assistant to the President for Transportation and Infrastructure Policy at the National Economic Council and Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation under the White House Chief of Staff. In these roles, she was responsible for designing, negotiating, and implementing President Biden's signature infrastructure legislation, making historic investments across roads, bridges, transit, rail, water, high-speed internet, clean energy, resilience, and other sectors. During her tenure, federal agencies deployed over $600 billion in infrastructure funding across more than 70,000 projects, connected 3 million homes to high-speed internet, replaced 500,000 lead pipes, launched 12,000 bridge repair and replacement projects, and started construction at 200 airport terminals.
Prior to joining the White House, Samantha served in multiple leadership roles at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), also known as the "T". Samantha served as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, helping oversee the administrative functions of one of the oldest transit agencies in the country, including finance, revenue, information technology, human resources, labor relations, and real estate.
Fagan Harris serves as President and CEO of the Abell Foundation. Prior to joining Abell, Fagan served as Governor Wes Moore’s Chief of Staff from his historic inauguration in 2023 through 2025. As Chief of Staff, he managed the Governor’s Offices and oversaw the day-to-day operations of State government. He led the State through historic negotiations to retain the beloved Baltimore Orioles, managed the State’s response to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, and guided the development and implementation of the State’s $67b budget.
He is the co-founder of Baltimore Corps, a national leader in social innovation, where he served as CEO for 10 years. Under his leadership, Baltimore Corps re-imagined recruiting, hiring, and career advancement for underestimated communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Baltimore Corps played a central role in the creation and execution of the Baltimore Health Corps, which enlisted hundreds of city residents most impacted by the pandemic in the city’s public health response as full-time contact tracers and care coordinators.
Brandon Tatum serves as Chief Executive Officer of the National Governors Association (NGA). In this role, he leads the nation’s only bipartisan organization representing all 55 U.S. governors, setting strategic direction for policy development, federal engagement, and interstate collaboration on the country’s most consequential challenges. Prior to NGA, Tatum served as Chief Executive Officer of Oklahoma’s Public Regional University System (RUSO) and as Senior Advisor to Governor J. Kevin Stitt for workforce and education.
Earlier, Tatum served as Chief of Staff to Governor J. Kevin Stitt, acting as the Governor’s top advisor and strategist. In this role, he was responsible for executing the Governor’s policy agenda, overseeing state agency operations, and managing a 31,000-employee executive branch.