Newswise — Baltimore, MD, October 20, 2021: The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine congratulates Treasurer Nancy Kopp on her five decades of public service, including since 2002, as the Maryland State Treasurer. She is a pioneer overseeing the State’s financial responsibilities, holding one of three seats on Maryland’s powerful Board of Public Works, overseeing procurement contracts. She also serves on several key State Boards and financial planning committees, and she is a highly valued member of IHV’s Board of Advisors.
“There is not a single person I know who doesn’t value, or think highly of, Treasurer Kopp’s financial expertise and her overall service to the State of Maryland,” said Robert C. Gallo, MD, The Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Co-Founder and Director, Institute of Human Virology (IHV), University of Maryland School of Medicine, a Global Virus Network (GVN) Center of Excellence, and GVN Co-Founder and International Scientific Director. “She is not only exceptional in her ability to lead the State on finance, education, and fiscal matters, but she is dedicated in her philanthropic endeavors to donate her time and serve on several boards, including the Institute’s Board of Advisors. While we will experience a significant loss to Maryland’s Office of State Treasurer, the Institute is most pleased to have Treasurer Kopp continue to serve on our Board of Advisors. We wish her much happiness in retirement and look forward to continuing our good work together in bettering the human condition through science and research.”
In addition to her position on the Board of Public Works, Treasurer Kopp chairs both the Capital Debt Affordability Committee and the Commission on State Debt and is a member of Maryland's Board of Revenue Estimates. She is the chief representative of the State dealing with financial rating agencies and investment banking firms. The Treasurer also serves as Chair of both the Board of Trustees of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension Systems and the Maryland 529 College Savings Board, and is a member of the Maryland Supplemental Retirement Board, the Maryland Health and Higher Education Financing Authority, the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation Board, the Hall of Records Commission, the Maryland Small Business Retirement Savings Board, the Financial Education and Capability Commission, the Procurement Improvement Council, the Maryland Commission on Climate Change, and the Coast Smart Council.
“Treasurer Kopp is the essence of a terrific, sensitive, thoughtful and excellent public servant as a legislator and then Treasurer,” said Terry Lierman, Co-Chair, Board of Advisors, IHV. “To top such a career off, she is a calming, and an insightful member of the Institute’s Board of Advisors whose wisdom and insights are always astute and welcome to all.”
“Having worked with Treasurer Kopp on IHV’s Board of Advisors for so many years, I’m delighted she has agreed to continue to bring her experience, wise counsel and passion to our deliberations and mission. Her insight, experience, public service passion, vision and humanity serve as a beacon for this and future generations follow,” said John D. Evans, Co-Chair, Board of Advisors, IHV and Chairman and CEO, Evans Telecommunications Company.
Treasurer Kopp represented the Bethesda area in the Maryland House of Delegates for 27 years prior to her election as Treasurer. As a member of the House of Delegates, Treasurer Kopp chaired the Joint Committee on Spending Affordability, as well as the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education and Economic Development. She also served on the Capital Budget Subcommittee, the Subcommittee on Pensions, and the Joint Committee on Budget and Audit, and, at various times, as Deputy Majority Leader and Speaker Pro Tem. During her legislative career, Treasurer Kopp was named by her colleagues as the most effective woman legislator and one of the ten most effective members of the House of Delegates.
Treasurer Kopp has been active in numerous national, regional, and state organizations and boards during her career, primarily focused on finance, education, and fiscal matters. Appointed by President Clinton to the National Assessment Governing Board, Treasurer Kopp also served as Treasurer of the Southern Regional Education Board, chairing its Commission on Educational Quality. She served on the Executive Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures, chairing its Assembly on Legislative Issues and Committees on Federal Budget Issues, State Fiscal Issues, and Capital Budgeting Procedures. Treasurer Kopp also was Vice Chair of the National Commission on State and Local Budget and Finance Procedures and served as President of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers. A former Trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation, Treasurer Kopp currently serves on the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers' Membership Committee and Financial Management and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
A graduate of Wellesley College, Treasurer Kopp holds a master's degree in Government from the University of Chicago. In 2012, Treasurer Kopp was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame and, in 2015, received the Wellesley College Alumnae Achievement Award, the highest honor given to alumnae for excellence and distinction in their fields of endeavor. Treasurer Kopp and her husband, Robert Kopp, live in Bethesda and have two adult children and three grandchildren.
About the Institute of Human Virology
Formed in 1996 as a partnership between the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, the University System of Maryland, and the University of Maryland Medical System, the IHV is an institute of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is home to some of the most globally-recognized and world-renowned experts in all of virology. The IHV combines the disciplines of basic research, epidemiology, and clinical research in a concerted effort to speed the discovery of diagnostics and therapeutics for a wide variety of chronic and deadly viral and immune disorders - most notably, HIV the virus that causes AIDS. For more information, visit www.ihv.org and follow us on Twitter @IHVmaryland.