Kent County Appoints Joanne McNamara as Grants Director

Kent County appointed Joanne E. McNamara, JD, as its first Director of Grants and Contracts, a new position designed to expand the county's pursuit and management of federal, state, and private funding.

McNamara, who spent the past year as the county's Grant Administrator, secured grants the county had not previously received and managed the Opioid Restitution Fund. Before joining Kent County, she worked as a Senior Manager at CohnReznick's Community Health Consulting Practice, where she managed full-lifecycle grant work with federal agencies including HRSA, SAMHSA, and the CDC. Earlier in her career, she held planning and development roles at Ryan Health, a nonprofit health center network in New York City.

McNamara earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law, where she graduated cum laude and served as Senior Articles Editor for the Journal of Health Care Law & Policy. She holds a cum laude Bachelor of Arts from the University of Delaware and earned induction into Phi Beta Kappa and the Sigma Iota Rho International Relations Honor Society.

Board President Ron Fithian said McNamara's expertise will help the county pursue new funding opportunities and manage them responsibly.