About Bill Henry

Before being elected Comptroller of Baltimore City, Bill Henry served three terms representing North and Northeast Baltimore’s 4th District on the City Council. Previously, Bill spent several years revitalizing neighborhoods in Southeast Baltimore with the Patterson Park Community Development Corporation after being staff in City Hall. He is a graduate of both the Johns Hopkins University, where he concentrated in urban studies and public policy, and Loyola University Maryland, where he earned an MBA with a concentration in finance.

While still a student at Johns Hopkins, Bill interned for Mayor Kurt Schmoke and worked as a congressional aide to Ben Cardin. He then served for several years in the Council President’s office, working his way up from legislative aide under Mary Pat Clarke to chief of staff under Lawrence Bell. Along the way, Bill developed the truly independent, accountable, and collaborative approach to making policy that he’s known for today.

Speaking Up for the Community

Bill started volunteering for campaigns and causes at an early age. Before being elected to the City Council, he honed his skills as an advocate for communities in his role with Patterson Park Community Development Corporation (CDC), as board president of both the Citizens Planning and Housing Administration (CPHA) and the Greater Homewood Corporation (now Strong City Baltimore), where he helped lead revitalization efforts for the York-Greenmount corridor.

In these roles Bill proved that he was an independent thinker and a fair dealer, able to take on and solve the challenges kinds of intractable challenges Baltimore’s communities face. He also learned that when it comes to meeting our challenges, our communities have the answers, and great leaders and policymakers get things done through partnership and empowering others to take action.

Commitment to Service

As a City Council member, Bill served for five years on the Baltimore City Commission for Historical & Architectural Preservation and was the Council’s first African-American representative to the City’s Planning Commission.

On December 8, 2020, Bill Henry was sworn as Comptroller of Baltimore City. As Comptroller, he now sits on several City boards and commissions, including the Board of Estimates, the Board of Finance, the Architectural and Engineering Commission, the Hotel Corporation, the Biennial Audits Oversight Commission, and the Boards of Trustees for both of the City’s pension systems.

Under his leadership, the Office of the Comptroller has focused on modernizing systems to increase accessibility and accountability. Comptroller Henry is working to increase government efficiency through reforming Baltimore’s spending panel, auditing for waste, and creating a community-centric approach to the City’s real estate portfolio.

Devoted to Family, Community, and Baltimore

A lifelong resident of Baltimore, Bill lives in Radnor-Winston with his wife, Ruth. Bill attended St. Mary’s Parish School in Govans, and graduated from the Honors program at Loyola-Blakefield High School. Baltimore is where he grew up, where he has spent his career of public service and where he and Ruth raised their daughters, Claudia and Amelia.

A past board member of the Johns Hopkins Society of Black Alumni, the Radnor-Winston Improvement Association, and the Mobtown Players theater company, Bill currently serves on the board of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and the Baltimore Museum of Art. As a longtime advocate for strengthening the York-Greenmount corridor, he co-chaired the Greenmount Avenue Revitalization Task Force while at Greater Homewood Corporation and has been a member of the leadership committee for the York Road Partnership.

Bill loves Baltimore and wants to see it thrive. As Baltimore City Comptroller, he has worked tirelessly for this City and wants to keep helping it be better.