Rev. Lawrence “Larry" Walker is the Assistant Secretary, Office of External Affairs, Maryland Department of General Services. In this role, he oversees the Agency's communications, compliance, legislative affairs, marketing, and records retention. Prior to taking this position, he served as Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Community Initiatives under Maryland Governor Wes Moore. In this role, he has guided the staff that oversees the administration of the state's six Ethnic Commissions, plus the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Faith Outreach, and both the Maryland Commissions on LGBTQIA+, and Indian American Affairs. This Office is responsible for the implementation of Governor Wes Moore's vision to build a caring, inclusive community throughout the state.
Before joining the Moore/Miller Administration, Rev. Walker was the full-time Deputy Pastor and Chief-of-Staff for Celebration Church at Columbia. For nearly twenty years, he oversaw community engagement and ministry operations, trained and developed associate pastors and ministers in congregational care, counseled leaders, developed programming always focused on approving the outcome of activities, and served as a primary spokesperson and liaison for the Church to the broader community.
He is a founding member and current president of the Montpelier Descendants Committee (MDC). The organization was formed to represent descendants of formerly enslaved people at James Madison's Montpelier, as well as neighboring sites of enslavement throughout the Central Virginia region. In 2022, he was elected as a member of the Board of Directors at James Madison's Montpelier Foundation, part of a historic class representing descendants of the enslaved community where his 4th great-grandfather, Benjamin McDaniel, was enslaved.
For more than 40 years, he has built a reputation as a trusted, reliable community leader and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. He is known as a caring, compassionate leader concerned about the personal and professional health and success of those who work with him.
Rev. Walker credits his success to his faith and the support of his wife of over forty years, Alfreda. They are the proud parents of two adult sons, a daughter-in-love, and four grandchildren.
