BALTIMORE – Womble Bond Dickinson announced today that Allison S. Mayer has joined the Baltimore office as a senior advisor in the Capital Markets group. Mayer has served complex, public-facing organizations for nearly two decades, utilizing her expertise in public affairs, economic development, project management, and government relations.
Mayer joins Womble from the Office of former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, where she served as deputy chief of staff and infrastructure director. In those roles, she helped guide the Administration’s strategy to achieve many of Gov. Hogan’s top priorities, including implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in the state. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she managed a multi-agency response and recovery strategy and shepherded multiple rounds of economic relief to help Maryland small businesses and non-profit organizations.
Her extensive experience in government relations, public affairs, and economic development will have a tremendous impact on our firm and the clients we serve, said Capital Markets Practice Group Leader Merrick J. Benn. We are thrilled that she has chosen to join Womble and welcome her to the firm.
Allison’s sterling reputation and unique background working for the States of Maryland and South Carolina will be a further boon to our Economic Development and Government Relations practices on the East Coast and across the country, adds Stephanie Yarbrough, a partner in the firm’s Economic Development group.
Immediately before becoming Gov. Hogan’s deputy chief of staff, Mayer was managing director of marketing and communications at the Maryland Department of Commerce, where she led marketing, media relations, public affairs, and advertising to promote the state’s unique assets to the broader business community. She served as a key member of the team in several major projects, including Maryland’s bid for Amazon’s HQ2, with Maryland as a Top 20 finalist. She was also appointed the first executive director of the Maryland Marketing Partnership, the public-private organization that launched the award-winning “Maryland: Open for Business” campaign.
Before her move to Maryland, Mayer led strategic communications and global marketing activities at the South Carolina Department of Commerce for former Gov. Nikki Haley, where she was involved in the recruitment of Volvo’s first North American manufacturing facility to the Charleston region. Earlier in her career, Mayer was responsible for public relations and community affairs for the South Carolina Ports Authority and served as the port’s official spokesperson.
Mayer arrives on the heels of five significant lateral additions to the firm since the start of 2023, including Harry H. Rimm (Business Litigation, New York), Paul G. Afonso (Corporate & Securities, Boston), Marcantonio Barnes (Corporate & Securities, Tysons, Va.), Tara K. Gorman (Real Estate, DC), and Joel L. Perrell Jr. (Capital Markets, Baltimore).
