Kendel Ehrlich

Kendel Sibiski Ehrlich (born 1961) is a former first lady of Maryland, having served from 2003 to 2007 during the administration of Maryland governor Robert Ehrlich. She is the first woman of Polish descent to have been Maryland's first lady. She also served for four years as a prosecutor with Harford County, Maryland. initially as a lawyer, then part-time as a consultant and later a television show producer.

First lady On October 3, 2003, during her first year as first lady, Mrs. Ehrlich spoke at a domestic violence function and made the statement, "You know, really, if I had an opportunity to shoot Britney Spears, I think I would." She apologized to Spears, and a spokesperson later said that the incident "inadvertently used a figure of speech."

In July 2004, Baltimore magazine published an article on the Ehrlichs' move into Government House, in which the first lady commented on the adjustment involved for the family, and the changes that were made.

Ehrlich joined a steering committee in September 2004 on Underage Drinking Research and Prevention, sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

In April 2005, Ehrlich and her husband spoke out against newspapers, particularly The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post, as being biased and unfair.

The Washington Post reported in June 2005 that the first lady had played a very active role in decisions such as "appointments and policy initiatives".

Subsequent activities

After her husband left office, Ehrlich took a job as a director for BankAnnapolis. By mid-2009, rumors began to surface regarding the prospect of Kendel Ehrlich's running for elected office herself. In October 2015, Ehrlich was sworn in as an assistant state's attorney in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and left the position in 2018.

On July 31, 2019, President Trump announced his intention to appoint Ehrlich to be Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. On February 28, 2020, Trump announced he would nominate her to lead the DOJ's Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) within the Office of Justice Programs; she was sworn in as the director on March 16, 2020, and was succeeded by an acting director in early 2021.