25 WOMEN TO WATCHSamara L. FirebaughDean and provost, U.S. Naval AcademyThe U.S. Naval Academy named Samara L. Firebaugh, 49, as thenew academic dean and provost in April. Firebaugh, who stepped intothe role in July, oversees the academic programming for the approximately 4,400-member Brigade of Midshipmen and nearly 600 facultymembers.She came to the academy in 2001 to teach electrical engineering andhas moved up the ranks, becoming chair of the Electrical and ComputerEngineering Department and later the associate provost. Firebaughsays she sought a leadership role because she wanted to make an impact.As provost, her goal is to be a relationship builder and to further themission of the institution. She is focused on “truly growing a community here.”Outside the classroom and provost office, Firebaugh has receivedseveral academic and professional awards, including the 2022 NavySuperior Civilian Service Award.— Caitlyn FreemanBARBARA HADDOCK TAYLORFaith LeachBaltimore City administrator“I didn’t know I would fall for Baltimore so hard and so fast, but hereI am,” Baltimore City Administrator Faith Leach told the City Councilat her confirmation hearing in March. Since her arrival in 2021 by wayof the private sector, Leach has been one of the most visible membersof Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration and led some of his highest-priority initiatives.In the aftermath of a deadly shooting downtown involving a confrontation between a driver and squeegee workers cleaning windshieldsfor cash, Leach spearheaded the city’s Squeegee Collaborative, whichbrought together city leaders to steer youths toward alternative employment.Now in Baltimore’s fledgling city administrator role, Leach, 40, isexpanding her efforts to take on some of the city’s most persistentbureaucratic challenges, including water billing, a notoriously slowprocurement system and recycling collection. It’s an unenviable taskat times, but as Leach told the City Council, public service is a calling.“We get to be messengers of hope for our communities. We get to bepurveyors of justice and agents of change,” she said. “We get to use ourlives, we get to use our very existence, to make the lives of others better.”— Emily Opilo18 | 2023 | WOMEN TO WATCHAMY DAVIS
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