Gene W. Counihan was appointed as a WSSC Commissioner from Montgomery County in October 2007. Mr. Counihan has lived and worked in Montgomery County since 1963. His career includes elected and appointed positions in state, regional and county government and 29 years as a teacher and administrator in the Montgomery County Public Schools.
Commissioner Counihan was elected to and served three, four-year terms in the Maryland House of Delegates. After leaving the legislature in January 1995 Mr. Counihan worked as a special assistant to Governor Parris Glendening before becoming the Maryland Government Relations Officer for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). In this capacity he worked with Montgomery and Prince George’s county officials and the state legislature to secure funding to build, operate and maintain public transit services in the Suburban Maryland Region.
His numerous community leadership activities include serving as Chair of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, the Montgomery College Board of Trustees, the Committee for Montgomery, the Board of Advisors at the Universities at Shady Grove, and the Olney Theatre Center Board. Mr. Counihan is a graduate of Leadership Maryland and Leadership Montgomery and was named the 2005 Montgomery County Leader of the Year by Leadership Montgomery.
Mr. Counihan holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Education from Frostburg State College and a master’s degree in Educational Administration from The American University.
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