Wes Moore Bio
Westley Watende Omari Moore, known publicly as Wes Moore, is an American politician, businessman, author, and former U.S. Army officer who has served as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he is Maryland’s first Black governor and only the third African American ever elected governor of a U.S. state. Moore previously led the Robin Hood Foundation, one of the largest anti-poverty organizations in New York City, and is the author of the bestselling book The Other Wes Moore. He resides with his family in Government House, the official residence of the governor in Annapolis, Maryland.
Early Life and Background
Westley Watende Omari Moore was born on October 15, 1978, in Takoma Park, Maryland, to William Westley Moore Jr., a broadcast news journalist, and Joy Thomas Moore, a news media professional whose parents emigrated from Cuba and Jamaica. His father died of acute epiglottitis in 1982, when Moore was three years old. In the summer of 1984, his mother moved the family to the Bronx, New York, to live with her parents. His maternal grandfather, James Thomas, a Jamaican immigrant, became the first Black minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, while his grandmother, Winell Thomas, was a retired schoolteacher of Cuban descent.
Moore attended the Riverdale Country School in New York, but after his grades dropped and he became involved in petty crime, his mother enrolled him at Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Pennsylvania. He later returned to Maryland with his mother after her employer, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, relocated to Baltimore. In 1998, Moore graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Valley Forge with an associate degree, completed the requirements for the United States Army’s early commissioning program, and was appointed a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve. During his formative years, he also interned for Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke in 1998 and 1999.
Path to US Politics
Moore first expressed interest in politics in June 1996, telling a New York Times reporter that he planned to attend law school and run for office after two years at Valley Forge. He attended Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a B.A. in international relations and economics in 2001, played wide receiver for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football team for two seasons, and served as chair of the university’s Men of the NAACP branch. He was initiated into the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
After graduating from Johns Hopkins, he studied at Wolfson College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a master’s degree in international relations in 2004 with a thesis titled Rise and Ramifications of Radical Islam in the Western Hemisphere. He then served in the 82nd Airborne Division, was deployed to Afghanistan from 2005 to 2006, and attained the rank of captain before leaving the Army in 2014. Moore gave a speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention supporting Barack Obama for president, an early sign of his growing engagement with national Democratic politics.
Wes Moore Career
Early Career (2006–2014)
After his military service, Moore transitioned to public and private sector work. In February 2006, he was named a White House Fellow assigned to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He later worked as an investment banker at Deutsche Bank in Manhattan and at Citibank from 2007 to 2012, while living in Jersey City, New Jersey. In 2009, Crain’s New York Business recognized him on its “40 Under 40” list, an early marker of his rising profile in business and philanthropy.
He founded the television production company Omari Productions in 2010, creating content for the Oprah Winfrey Network, PBS, HBO, and NBC. In 2014, he launched BridgeEdU, a college-transition support company that was eventually acquired by Edquity in 2019. Moore also published The Other Wes Moore in 2010, which explored the divergent paths of two Baltimore men who shared the same name. He later hosted Beyond Belief on the Oprah Winfrey Network and produced the PBS series Coming Back with Wes Moore, which followed the lives of returning veterans.
Robin Hood Foundation and Public Leadership (2017–2021)
From June 2017 until May 2021, Moore served as CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, a major charitable organization focused on alleviating poverty in New York City through funding schools, food pantries, and shelters. During his tenure, the foundation raised more than $650 million, including $230 million in 2020 to address increased need during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also worked to expand the organization’s national reach in the fight against poverty.
Prior to entering electoral politics, Moore served on the boards of directors for Under Armour and Green Thumb Industries. In October 2022, he pledged to use a blind trust and resign from every board position if elected governor, a promise he fulfilled in May 2023 by finalizing the trust, becoming the first Maryland governor to do so since Bob Ehrlich. His reputation as a bridge-builder between business, philanthropy, and the military shaped his appeal as a political candidate.
Maryland Gubernatorial Era (2023–Present)
Moore launched his campaign for governor of Maryland on June 7, 2021, running on the slogan “leave no one behind” with running mate Aruna Miller. He won the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022, defeating former Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez and Comptroller Peter Franchot with 32.4% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee Dan Cox, becoming Maryland’s first Black governor and the first veteran elected governor since William Donald Schaefer.
Sworn in on January 18, 2023, Moore took the oath of office on Bibles owned by abolitionist Frederick Douglass and his grandfather. His legislative priorities have included a service year option for high school graduates, removing regulations around new housing development, and supporting military and veteran families through health care, tax cuts, and employment programs. In July 2025, he was elected vice chair of the National Governors Association, and on September 9, 2025, he announced his campaign for re-election to a second term.
Notable Events and Milestones
Moore’s tenure has been marked by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, after which he supported and signed legislation providing financial assistance to affected workers and businesses and urged Congress to fund the bridge’s rebuilding. In December 2024, President Joe Biden signed a continuing resolution that included full federal funding for the bridge’s replacement. His administration also navigated a $3.3 billion state budget deficit, working with the Maryland General Assembly to pass a 2025 spending plan that cut $2.5 billion in state spending while raising more than $1 billion in new taxes.
Wes Moore Family
Family Background and Lineage
Moore is the son of William Westley Moore Jr. and Joy Thomas Moore. His maternal grandfather, James Thomas, a Jamaican immigrant, was the first Black minister in the history of the Dutch Reformed Church. Moore holds honorary degrees from Lafayette College, Skidmore College, Lincoln University, and the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean. He is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution through his ancestor Prince Ames, who served in the Massachusetts Militia during the Revolutionary War.
Personal Life
Moore met Dawn Flythe in Washington, D.C. in 2002, and the couple eloped in Las Vegas during a brief leave from Afghanistan before holding their official wedding ceremony on July 6, 2007. They have two children, born in 2011 and 2013. From 2015 to 2023, Moore attended services at the Southern Baptist Church in east Baltimore. The family now resides at Government House in Annapolis, Maryland. Moore is a fan of the Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Knicks.