Calvin Ball

County Executive
Howard County

Born and raised in Maryland and now a resident of Columbia, Calvin Ball made history in 2006 when he was elected the youngest chairperson in the history of the Howard County Council. In 2018, he again made history when he was the first African American elected Howard County executive.

What is your proudest professional accomplishment?

One of my proudest achievements as county executive is in our effort to combat COVID-19 in our community. When the unprecedented pandemic hit our community, we came together and became the first Maryland jurisdiction with 80 percent of eligible residents fully vaccinated.

In Howard County, we pride ourselves on being data-informed and people-driven, which is how we managed to become a state leader in our vaccination rates.

What is the most important life lesson you learned?

The most important life lesson I have learned, which has grown even greater in importance throughout the pandemic, is the power of compassion. We are all fighting our own battles and over the last year, many shared ones. We deserve and many of us could give more compassion to others and, also, ourselves. It’ll help us all get through this.

What do you do for fun and why?

I enjoy watching “Touched by an Angel” (TBAA) with my mom and “Locke & Key” (L&K) with my daughters because I enjoy spending time with them and both shows remind me of fatherhood. TBAA reminds me of my dad, whom we miss a lot, and L&K of being a dad.