Jake Day is the Secretary of Housing & Community Development for the State of Maryland. He served as Mayor of Salisbury, Maryland for two terms and was first elected City Council President in 2013. Under Jake’s leadership, Salisbury established a first-of-its-kind Housing First program to reduce chronic homelessness, opened its first youth community centers and recreation programs, bore witness to the fastest dropping crime rate of any US city from 2006-2016. The renaissance of Downtown Salisbury along with the selection of Salisbury as 2018-2022 host city of America’s oldest and largest traditional music and arts festival – the National Folk Festival, helped Salisbury to become Maryland’s fastest growing city and America’s 7th fastest growing job market. As Mayor, Jake completely reorganized Salisbury government, restoring employee morale, customer service, efficiency and transparency. Jake is a Just City Mayoral Fellow, member of the Next American Vanguard, Leadership Maryland, the Mayor's Institute on City Design, and Smart Growth America Local Leaders Council. Jake has been honored with the Partners for Livable Communities’ 2018 Entrepreneurial American Leader Award, 2 Maryland Sustainable Growth Awards for Leadership, and the Maryland League of Conservation Voters’ President Theodore Roosevelt Award. Jake earned a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Maryland, a Master’s degree in Urban Design from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master’s degree in Environmental Policy from Oxford University. Jake is a Veteran of the Global War on Terrorism. He completed a combat deployment to Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti as the Special Technical Operations Chief for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. A Cavalry, Information Operations and Special Technical Operations Officer, he is currently serving in the 110th Information Operations Battalion, Maryland Army National Guard. Jake is the proud Daddy of Lilly and Olivia.