SAFA HIRA

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Howard County Government

Safa Hira serves as director of communications for Howard County Government, where she oversees a team of 10 employees serving nearly 350,000 residents. At 27, Hira is the youngest member of Howard County Government’s Cabinet, a team of approximately 45 senior leaders, and the youngest director of communications in Maryland.

Hira earned a Master of Arts in Government with a specialization in political communication from Johns Hopkins University in 2023. She previously received a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Public Policy from the University of Baltimore in 2018 and an Associate of Arts in General Studies from Howard Community College in 2016.

As a founding member of the Maryland Association of Counties Public Information Officers Affiliate, Hira mentors communications leaders across Maryland through training, website design best practices and social media policy guidance. Her work has earned multiple National Association of Counties Awards, including Best in Category honors for the Citizens’ Election Fund System, Community Ambassador Training Program and Public Information Request Processing initiatives. She also received Community Leader recognition from IONHoCo in 2019 and Census Champion recognition from Census Maryland in 2020.

“Organizing Howard County Government’s Iftar Dinners” represents her most significant professional accomplishment, Hira said. “What began with 80 attendees grew to nearly 350 under my leadership, representing diverse Muslim Americans across our county. It was a proud moment for creating space where my community felt seen, celebrated and truly part of local government.”

Regarding her commitment to inspiring change, Hira explained her approach stems from personal experience. “As a young Muslim American woman growing up in a post-9/11 world, I was often encouraged to stay quiet, keep my head down and not draw attention to myself,” she said. “Instead, I chose to rewrite that narrative for myself and for our next generation of leaders.”

Her civic engagement includes serving as vice president of Howard County Young Democrats from 2023 to 2024 and member of the Howard County Democratic Central Committee from 2020 to 2023, where she became the youngest elected official in Howard County history. Hira previously served as recording secretary of the Democratic Central Committee from 2018 to 2020.

Honoree profiles were written using an artificial intelligence program and supported by honoree nominations, applications and letters of recommendation. Each profile was reviewed, fact-checked and edited for accuracy by The Daily Record’s editorial staff.