The Honorable Byron E. Macfarlane was first elected Register of Wills for Howard County in 2010. He is the 18th Register and first openly gay elected official in Howard County history. From 2013 to 2016, Byron served as President of the Maryland Register of Wills Association.

Byron is a county native and attended Howard County public schools. He credits his public school education for inspiring his passion for government and public service. Byron has worked at the county, state, and federal levels of government, for County Councilman Guy Guzzone, Circuit Court Judge Richard Bernhardt, State Senator Edward J. Kasemeyer, and United States Senator Edward M. Kennedy. From 2004 to 2006, Byron served as Legislative Director to Delegate Peter Franchot, now the Comptroller of Maryland. In 2006, Byron was elected to serve on the Howard County Democratic Central Committee.

Byron earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he concentrated on public and governmental service. Prior to earning his law degree, Byron attended the University of Maryland, College Park, receiving his bachelor’s degree in government and political science, with Citations in Public Leadership and Communication. He is an Honorary Alumnus Member of the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.

A strong believer in lifetime learning, Byron is a graduate of the Leadership Howard County Premier Class of 2017 and the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance’s “Transportation 101” Course of 2017. From 2015 to 2017, he served as an adjunct faculty member at Howard University School of Law. Most recently, he was named a 2018 Bohnett Leaders Fellow and completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Byron values community involvement. He is a member of several local, state, and national organizations: Howard County Bar Association; Maryland Bar Association; National College of Probate Judges; Howard County Estate Planning Council (Founding Member); Maryland Student Legislature Board of Advisors; Columbia Democratic Club; Thurgood Marshall Democratic Club; PFLAG of Howard County; League of Women Voters of Howard County; Howard County NAACP, NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland; American Civil Liberties Union; Sierra Club and Human Rights Campaign. In 2013, Byron was selected by the Baltimore Business Journal as a “40 Under 40” Honoree.