Wes Moore Praises Telugu Americans as Key to Maryland’s Tech Strength

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore spoke at the American Telugu Association's closing session at the Baltimore Convention Center on Sunday, August 2, 2026.

BALTIMORE — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore praised Telugu Americans for helping drive the state’s strength in technology, healthcare, business and higher education, telling members of the diaspora at the American Telugu Association’s 19th Conference and Youth Convention that their contributions are central to Maryland’s future. Moore spoke at the convention’s closing session at the Baltimore Convention Center on Sunday, August 2, 2026.

“The Telugu community is at the forefront of Maryland’s strength as a technology, medical, business and academic powerhouse,” Moore said, according to reports from the three-day gathering.

Moore went further in his address, telling attendees that Telugu Americans were not only contributing to what Maryland is today but helping shape what the state hopes to become. An on-site report by South Asian Herald said the governor credited the community with being a driving force behind Maryland’s progress and highlighted its role across technology, medicine, business and education.

The conference, held from July 31 through August 2, brought Telugu Americans from across the United States to Baltimore for cultural, youth, business and community programs. ATA’s official conference site identifies the Baltimore gathering as its 19th Conference and Youth Convention.

Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller featured prominently in Moore’s remarks. Miller was born in Hyderabad in 1964 and immigrated to the United States with her family at age seven. Her official state biography describes her as the first woman of color and first immigrant elected to statewide office in Maryland.

Moore called Miller an important example of Telugu-American leadership and praised her as a governing partner. Miller, introducing Moore, spoke about the immigrant experience, the sacrifices families make for their children and the importance placed on education in many immigrant households. She also recalled the doubts that surrounded their decision to run together in 2022 as two candidates of color.

Maryland voters ultimately elected the Moore-Miller ticket with 64.53% of the vote in November 2022, according to official state election results. Moore became Maryland’s first Black governor and only the third African American elected governor in U.S. history.

For Telugu Americans, Miller’s rise to one of Maryland’s highest offices gives the community an unusually visible connection to state government. Moore described her during the ATA gathering as the highest-ranking Telugu leader in the United States, while emphasizing the example her career could provide to younger generations.

The industries Moore singled out are also central to Maryland’s current economic-development strategy. In June, the state announced nearly $7 million in a new round of innovation-infrastructure grants supporting projects in areas including biotechnology, medical technology, aerospace, robotics and clean energy. Maryland’s broader Build Our Future program targets sectors such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and life sciences.

That context gives Moore’s recognition particular significance for Telugu professionals and entrepreneurs working in the Washington-Baltimore region. However, publicly available state data does not appear to separately quantify Telugu Americans’ share of Maryland’s technology, medical or academic workforces, making the governor’s remarks a statement of recognition rather than a demographic measurement.

ATA says its mission includes promoting cultural, educational, social, economic, health and community activities among people of Telugu origin, as well as exchanges involving students, scientists and professionals in the United States, Canada, India and other countries.

The Baltimore convention also underscored the growing visibility of South Asian political leadership in the Mid-Atlantic. Virginia Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, another Hyderabad-born statewide official, attended the gathering. Hashmi took office in January 2026 as Virginia’s first South Asian American elected to statewide office, according to her official biography.

For Maryland’s Telugu community, Moore’s address amounted to unusually direct recognition from the state’s highest elected official: an acknowledgment that Telugu Americans are not simply maintaining cultural ties in the United States but are participating in industries and institutions Maryland considers central to its economic future.