Iesha Young to Oversee Social Work and Assistance Portfolio
ANNAPOLIS, MD - Annapolis City Manager Michael Mallinoff has hired Iesha Young to oversee the Office of Community Services. Young will oversee a staff of five whose portfolio includes community outreach, oversight of community grants, rental assistance, social work, and individual case management.
Young brings a decade of experience in community outreach and engagement. She is a certified enrollment navigator and was most recently engagement manager at Young Invincibles where she specialized in healthcare access and literacy for young adults. Young has been a volunteer for the National Alliance for Mental Health (NAMI) and has served as a Peer 2 Peer educator, a support group facilitator and a presenter on mental health issues. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Healthcare Administration at Southern New Hampshire University.
The Annapolis Office of Community Services was established in 2022 under the direction of Laura Gutierrez, now a nationally-recognized specialist in Hispanic outreach and health care advocacy. Gutierrez began her tenure in Annapolis as the Hispanic Liaison in the Mayor’s Office in 2020 and established the Take Care Annapolis program, which focused on strong community outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That seemingly temporary healthcare outreach work exposed critical needs in underserved communities in Annapolis. In 2022, the Annapolis City Council dedicated funds to establishing the Office of Community Services to address issues in the community including access to food, job training and workforce development, educational supports, rental assistance, mental health resources, substance use disorder and more. The new office incorporated the City’s existing social work position and added some additional staff to support the new mission. Gutierrez accepted a position with the Maryland Comptroller’s office in the fall of 2023. Since that time, Erin Lee (LCSW) has been acting Community Services Manager alongside her social work case management.
Young will earn $102,459. She begins work on February 15, 2024.
