Prince George’s County names LaTara Harris to lead Employ Prince George’s

Prince George’s County is putting LaTara Harris in charge of one of its most important job pipelines, a move that will shape how residents are trained, placed and connected to employers as the county pushes workforce development deeper into its economic strategy. Harris will become president and chief executive officer of Employ Prince George’s effective July 1, 2026, after a transition period.

County Executive Aisha Braveboy announced the appointment June 8, saying Harris brings the kind of experience the county wants at an agency that links job seekers with employers and is supposed to help residents gain the skills and wages needed to thrive in a changing economy. Employ Prince George’s says it has already served more than 100,000 job seekers and 15,000 businesses, making the leadership change significant for a major public-facing institution that sits between the county’s labor force and its employer base.

Harris currently serves as Braveboy’s chief of staff and previously sat on the District of Columbia Workforce Investment Council. County officials said her background also includes work that helped secure the Sphere project and more than $90 million in state legislative funding for Prince George’s County, a record they point to as evidence she can navigate both public and private partnerships. She is a longtime Prince George’s County resident with an MBA from the University of Maryland Global Campus and a bachelor’s degree from Bowie State University.

The appointment also marks a new chapter for an agency that was created by Walter L. Simmons in 2018 as the county’s principal workforce development entity. Simmons left in fall 2025 to join Governor Wes Moore’s administration and was later named acting secretary of Maryland’s newly created Department of Social and Economic Mobility in October 2025.

County workforce leaders have framed the job as more than a title change. The Prince George’s County Workforce Development Board says its mission is to drive innovation, integration, continuity, productivity and efficiency in a workforce system that produces a robust, qualified and skilled workforce meeting business needs. County budget materials say the Prince George’s County American Job Center serves more than 40,000 job seekers and businesses each year, underscoring the scale of the system Harris will oversee.

Brad Frome, chair of the county workforce development board, said workforce development is about creating pathways to economic mobility and strengthening the local talent pipeline. Under Harris, that mandate now falls on a county resident with deep ties to local government and a clear assignment: help more Prince George’s residents move from job search to training to paychecks that can support long-term stability.