Dover, Del. April 22, 2024 – Today, the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) announced that Emily Cunningham will serve as the agency’s Chief of Staff. 

Cunningham brings a wealth of diverse experience to her new role. She recently served as the Vice President of the Blood Bank of Delmarva. Prior to this role, she was Chief of Staff and Policy Analyst for Delaware’s Department of Education, executing the priorities of the Governor and the Secretary of Education as the department’s legislative liaison and overseeing education policy, legislation, and regulation work as well as communications and human resources.

“Emily possesses decades of policy, communication, and management experience, which will be critical in advancing the agency’s mission and impact on Delawareans,” said Cynthia Karnai, Director of DSHA. “I’m confident in the leadership and fresh perspective she will bring to this position.” 

Cunningham helped manage the 500-member staff of Delaware’s Department of Justice as Deputy Chief of Staff for Attorney General Matt Denn and, prior, served as Chief of Staff for Lieutenant Governor Denn. She was also the press secretary for U.S. Senator Tom Carper.

“I am thrilled to be back with the State of Delaware and look forward to working with the talented team at DSHA to address housing in our state,” said Emily Cunningham, Chief of Staff at DSHA. 

She has been a dedicated member of the Ronald McDonald House Advisory Board since 2011 and a member of the Brandywine Valley SPCA Executive Board of Directors since 2019. She has mentored students in Capital and Cape Henlopen School Districts since 2010. Emily earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She lives with her daughters in Rehoboth Beach. 

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About Delaware State Housing Authority 
The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), formed in 1968, provides quality, affordable housing opportunities and appropriate supportive services to low-and moderate-income Delawareans. In addition to its role as the State’s Housing Finance Agency, DSHA is unique in that it serves as a Public Housing Authority and a Community Development Agency. As a Public Housing Authority, DSHA receives funding from HUD to build, own, and operate public housing in Kent and Sussex counties, two of Delaware’s three counties.

DNREC Division of Water Director Steven Smailer.

New Director for The Division of Water, Chief of Staff Within DNREC’s Office of The Secretary

Secretary Shawn M. Garvin announced changes today to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s leadership structure, selecting Steven Smailer as new director of DNREC’s Division of Water and naming Kim Siegel as chief of staff within DNREC’s Office of the Secretary.

Smailer succeeds environmental scientist and wetland and stream restoration expert Virgil Holmes, who retired from DNREC after two stints with the Department totaling 15 years, including the last seven years leading the Division of Water. Smailer, a hydrogeologist, worked as an environmental program administrator in the division. He originally came into the Department and the then-Division of Water Resources in the early 1990s, then worked as a hydrogeologist for an extended period in the private sector, before returning to DNREC in 2015 as manager of the Division of Water’s Wetlands and Subaqueous Lands Section.

“Steve’s breadth of knowledge covering water resources top to bottom is unmatched,” said Secretary Garvin. “He has long been seen by peers as having a ‘most versatile player’ role for overseeing many aspects of Delaware’s most precious natural resource, our water. As the Department begins to implement Governor Carney’s Clean Water for Delaware Initiative, there couldn’t be a better choice to lead our Division of Water.”

Smailer is a Delaware-licensed professional geologist, Secretary of the Delaware Board of Geologists, a Groundwater Protection Council National Board Member, and has served as the chair of the State’s Water Supply Coordinating Council since 2017.
He is a Pennsylvania State University graduate with degrees in Earth Science/Geology and Marine Science. Smailer lives in Rehoboth Beach with his wife Laurie and their three children.

As chief of staff, Ms. Siegel succeeds Gregory Patterson who earlier this year moved to the Office of the Governor as the state’s infrastructure implementation coordinator to manage funding received by the State of Delaware through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“We’re excited to add Kim to the team whose knowledge of the legislative process and public policy experience will help us tackle Delaware’s environmental priorities across a range of issues, including air quality, clean water, climate change, wildlife protections and more,” said Secretary Garvin.

Siegel arrives at DNREC with 20 years of experience in state government and nonprofits. She most recently was the assistant director of government relations and advocacy at Mental Health Partnerships in Philadelphia, overseeing workforce development and individual advocacy programs and monitoring state legislative activity.

Prior to that, she was the FOIA coordinator and legislative affairs manager at the Delaware Department of Justice and the research director to then-Lt. Gov. Matt Denn.

Until 2014, Siegel served in several roles at Autism Delaware where she led a successful campaign to get insurance coverage for autism therapies and launched the Walk for Autism in Bellevue and Cape Henlopen State Parks. She has also worked for NAMI Delaware and was a legislative fellow in the General Assembly.

Siegel received her Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Delaware with a service term in the AmeriCorps program Public Allies between them. She currently resides in the city of Wilmington.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Water manages and protects Delaware’s water resources. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media contact: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov or Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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DOVER – Secretary Shawn M. Garvin announced today that the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will welcome a new chief of staff to the DNREC Secretary’s office Jan. 27: Gregory Patterson, who brings with him extensive experience in the fields of communications, government, and the environment, having served in three Delaware administrations.

Most recently, Patterson served as chief of staff in the Department of Justice under Delaware Attorneys General Kathy Jennings and Matt Denn, directing policy, communications, and legislative relations. Prior to that, he served as the senior government relations director in Delaware for the law firm Drinker Biddle, where he worked on behalf of clients including St. Francis Hospital and AstraZeneca.

Patterson was legislative liaison and later deputy chief of staff for Governor Jack Markell, coordinating the Markell administration’s effort to pass universal recycling legislation in 2010 and acting as the Governor’s point person in crisis response, including Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, snowstorms, and the 2009 swine flu outbreak. He also served as advisor to then-Delaware Insurance Commissioner Denn on policy and communications.

Earlier, Patterson served as communications director for Governor Ruth Ann Minner, after managing Minner’s campaign to become Delaware’s first woman governor and her reelection four years later. He had previously served as a special assistant to then-Lieutenant Governor Minner.

Patterson began his career as a newspaper reporter, working for The Augusta Chronicle in Georgia and the Sumter Daily Item in South Carolina. A Delaware native, Patterson graduated from Dover High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Washington and Lee University in Virginia. He now lives near Dover with his wife and two daughters.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

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