2022 Legislatively Speaking: Part One

Montgomery County Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz

Councilmember Albornoz is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County and is deeply committed to our County, its people, and, as the son of immigrant parents, its diversity. He grew up here, graduated from Montgomery County Public Schools and has dedicated his career to public service and advocating for just social policies.

Albornoz graduated from Walt Whitman High School, received his Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Maryland, and an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University.

He is truly “at-large,” having lived in Gaithersburg, Silver Spring, Bethesda; and now, Kensington, where he lives with his wife Catherine, also a Montgomery County native, and their four young children.

During the “great recession” of 2009, Councilmember Albornoz was able to maintain excellence in the Recreation Department despite the challenges of an austere fiscal environment.

Under his leadership, the department expanded programing to vulnerable populations, and with its dedicated staff and volunteers, has received dozens of awards for programming excellence from organizations such as the National Association of Counties (NACO). Just this past year, the Recreation Department received eight national awards, more than any other Department in the Country.

Highlights of his tenure as director include construction of four new senior centers, six new recreation centers, and major renovations to six others.

Councilmember Albornoz is respected for his ability to forge collaborations with a wide range of stakeholders and for building innovative programs such as Excel Beyond the Bell, TeenWorks, and TechConnect, which helped close the achievement and opportunity gaps for thousands of participants and ensuring vital living for senior citizens.

Eric Luedtke Maryland House of Delegates, District 14

A lifelong Marylander and resident of Montgomery County who was raised by his single mother in Gaithersburg, Eric attended Wootton High School. After graduating, Eric had the opportunity to attend the University of Maryland, College Park where he studied Government and History. After college, Eric returned to the community where he grew up and became a history teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools. For a decade, he taught in two high-poverty middle schools in the county, working to ensure that every child, regardless of their background, had access to a great education. As a teacher, he experienced first-hand the many challenges his students and their families faced. Students who lacked access to adequate food, health care, and housing. Parents working two and three jobs just to get by. He thought, and still thinks, that we can, and have an obligation to, do better. These experiences motivated Eric to re-engage with advocacy, this time for children and public schools. And in 2010, seeing a chance to make a bigger difference, he ran for the Maryland House of Delegates. Running a people-powered campaign, he knocked on more than 5,000 doors where he talked to voters one-on-one about the issues that most impacted their lives. And to the surprise of many in the political establishment, he won.

Eric Luedtke is an advocate, educator, father, and a proud Delegate from District 14. In Annapolis, he serves as the House Majority Leader and passionately advocates for the families, businesses, and students of Montgomery County and from across the state. Eric also works as a Clinical Professor in the School of Public Policy at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park. He lives in Ashton with his wife, Dawn, and their four kids. 

Ron Halber (rhalber@jcouncil.org) Executive Director

Ron Halber is the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and a highly-sought-after speaker on Israel and Jewish affairs, both locally and nationally. 

Having served as executive director since 2001, and in previous roles at the JCRC since 1997, Ron has developed a wide range of strategic initiatives and partnerships to position JCRC as the leading voice on Jewish advocacy and fighting antisemitism in the Washington, D.C. region. An expert in strategic organizational planning and widely respected for his sharp political acumen, Ron has received numerous awards for professional excellence and community impact.

Under Ron’s innovative leadership, the JCRC has secured tens of millions of dollars for local Jewish agencies, successfully advocated for the passage of state and local legislation, planned and executed several new pro-Israel initiatives and bolstered relationships with other faith and community organizations. His fundraising efforts have enabled the JCRC to dramatically expand its staff and footprint throughout the region, making it one of the most influential and respected Jewish advocacy organizations in the nation.

Ron has had numerous op-eds published and is frequently interviewed by local, national and international media outlets on a range of topics facing the Jewish community, including current events in Israel and the Middle East, the rise of antisemitism and security needs for Jewish institutions, and legislative and political affairs at the local, state and national levels.

Ron previously worked in politics and political campaigns, including a stint as an aide to U.S. Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer. He holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University and bachelor’s degree from the University of Albany in New York.

Ron and his wife, Michelle, live in Germantown with their three children.