Kevin Atticks to be new state agriculture secretary, other cabinet appoints made |

ANNAPOLIS — Grow & Fortify founder and CEO Kevin Atticks has announced his departure from the company to accept a new role as Maryland’s secretary of agriculture, appointed by Gov.-elect Wes Moore. Atticks will replace Joseph Bartenfelder, who served the past eight years under Gov. Larry Hogan.

“With a competitive agricultural industry, we can support every aspect of the new administration’s mission,” said Atticks, who believes the increasingly diverse industry plays an integral role in the Moore-Miller administration’s priorities. “We need to expand our agricultural base, provide farmers with new opportunities to grow profit, and educate our citizens about the incredible products grown and produced locally.”

Atticks has worked on behalf of local wineries and grape growers while promoting and advocating for Maryland’s wine industry; founding Grow & Fortify in 2015 to strengthen the state’s broader craft alcohol industry and support burgeoning value-added agriculture businesses.

Grow & Fortify published the first assessment of the state’s value-added agricultural industry, illustrating the expansive impact generated by this previously unheralded sector. Wineries, creameries, meat processing, agritourism, equine and dozens of other industry segments yield 74,000 jobs and bring a total economic impact of over $20.6 billion annually to the state’s economy. This level of economic activity, in turn, adds nearly $875 million to the state’s fiscal resources.

In his role as the executive director of the Brewers Association of Maryland, the Maryland Distillers Guild and the Maryland Wineries Association, Atticks advocated for legislation that changed the business landscape of Maryland’s alcohol industry. 

Originally from Bowie, Atticks graduated with a journalism degree from Loyola University Maryland. Shortly thereafter, Atticks received a master’s degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Atticks later earned his doctorate in communications design from University of Baltimore. He holds a faculty position at Loyola University Maryland where he teaches book publishing.

Grow & Fortify will carry on managing the state’s three craft alcohol trade associations. Effective immediately, Janna Howley assumes the role of acting CEO at Grow & Fortify. The responsibilities of outreach and role of the executive director for the Brewers Association of Maryland, the Maryland Distillers Guild and the Maryland Wineries Association will be carried out by Kelly Dudeck.

Other notable appointments by Moore include Josh Kurtz as secretary of natural resources and Jake Day as secretary of housing and community development.

Kurtz is currently Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. He replaces Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio of Talbot who served under Hogan.

Day is the mayor of Salisbury, where he has focused on downtown revitalization, and is a major in the Army National Guard. He replaces Kenneth Holt.