Meet Ron Gunzburger
If you are like many people in Ward One, you likely already know Ron Gunzburger from his popular photos of local homes and flowers he's been posting on the Facebook Friends of Annapolis page for the past five years. They give you a real feel for the love and appreciation Ron has for our very special town and way of life...
... and, while the photos he posts and Annapolis history lessons he writes are wonderful, there is a lot more to Ron than just his pictures. Ron has worn a lot of professional hats over his 40+ year career ... experiences Ron can put to good use helping his Annapolis neighbors.
GOVERNOR'S DIRECTOR OF COVID-19 RESPONSE STRATEGY. From the start of the pandemic, Ron worked closely with Governor Hogan to successfully steer our state safely though the two year state of emergency. The Washington Post rated Maryland's response as the best in the nation.
LAW ENFORCEMENT SENIOR COMMANDER. Ron was general counsel and executive director (civilian) for six years in Florida at one of the largest public safety agencies in the nation... a massive county police, fire rescue, and corrections agency with 5,400 personnel and an annual budget exceeding $1 billion.
ATTORNEY. An attorney since 1988, Ron previously served as an assistant public defender, an assistant Florida attorney general (RICO Unit), a civil litigation partner in a top-100 national law firm, and as general counsel/chief operating officer of a dot-com. He is admitted to practice law in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Florida.
NONPROFIT EXECUTIVE. These days, Ron serves as the chief of staff of the beloved nonprofit StoryCorps (best known for their weekly radio segment each Friday on NPR's Morning Edition). He also helps lead their One Small Step initiative to reduce toxic polarization in America.
DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT AND ACTIVIST. Starting in the 1980s, Ron was a professional campaign consultant in over 130 Democratic and nonpartisan campaigns. Additionally, the Stonewall National Museum recognized Ron as a "South Florida LGBT Rights Pioneer" for his gay equality activism in the 1980s and 1990s, when they recorded a video interview with him in 2016 for their permanent oral history collection.
PERSONAL. Ron and his husband Dana Buker have been together since 1987 (and legally married since 2006, when the law finally caught up to the times). They moved to Annapolis in 2019, and live in the historic district on Hanover Street. Since moving to the street, Dana and Ron turned most of the block's weed-covered parking islands into flower gardens. Their own backyard garden was featured in the Hammond-Harwood House's 2024 Secret Garden Tour. To be clear: Dana plans the gardens ... and Ron digs the holes, weeds, and trims. In their free time, they play tennis (poorly), ski (decently), travel, read, and frequently entertain friends and neighbors on their front porch. Ron and Dana are also sponsor parents to two USNA Midshipmen firsties (Class of 2025), and to a plebe (Class of 2028).
