Kathie Durbin

Kathie Durbin joined the Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services (Formerly Dept of Liquor Control) in 2002 as a Community Outreach Manager. In 2005, she accepted the position as the Division Chief of Licensure, Regulation and Education managing alcohol licensing, alcohol policy, education, legislative initiatives and business compliance. In the early 90’s she became a certified alcohol beverage service trainer for the Restaurant Association of Maryland Hospitality Education Foundation and played a lead role in managing and writing criteria for the program. As a substance abuse prevention specialist, Kathie worked as a consultant for the Montgomery County Health and Human Services. She managed state grants, mini-grants and the county substance abuse prevention network. Later, as the Executive Director of the Montgomery County Restaurant Association, Kathie worked closely with the business community. She collaborated with local agencies and the executive board to craft meaningful alcohol legislation. In her role as an alcohol regulator, she continues to be an active leader as the President of the Maryland Alcohol Licensing Association (MALA) and is a member of the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association. She is a longtime board member of the Responsible Hospitality Institute and the Responsible Retailing Forum. Kathie was recognized in 2016 by the National Alcohol Licensing Professional Association (NALCP) for Innovation and Leadership and again in 2017 by the Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) as Regulator of the Year. She is considered an expert in the field of alcohol regulation, education and policy. Kathie is a graduate of the University of Maryland in Baltimore County (UMBC) with a degree in Social Work/Psychology. She is certified by the of State of Maryland as an Alcohol Beverage Server Instructor and as a Substance Abuse Prevention Professional.