{"id":1855,"date":"2021-08-21T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-21T13:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=1855"},"modified":"2021-09-15T11:02:16","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T11:02:16","slug":"first-african-american-elected-chair-of-tedcos-board-of-directors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=1855","title":{"rendered":"First African American Elected Chair of TEDCO&#8217;s Board of Directors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"tbp_post_meta_before\">By<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news\/tedco\/\"><strong>TEDCO\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"xn-location\">COLUMBIA, Md.<\/span>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-chron\">Aug. 17, 2021<\/span>\u00a0\/PRNewswire\/ &#8212;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=1598634404&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2F&amp;a=TEDCO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TEDCO<\/a>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Maryland&#8217;s<\/span>\u00a0economic engine for technology companies, announced today that its board of directors elected four new Executive Officers at its annual election and welcomed a number of new members. The newly appointed chair of the board is\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Morgan State University&#8217;s<\/span>\u00a0(MSU)\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Omar Muhammad<\/span>, replacing\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Myra Norton<\/span>, CEO of Arena Analytics.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t take this opportunity for granted. Working with other board members several years ago, we were able to provide diversity by investing in entrepreneurs (African American and women) and staffing. It is an honor to take the role of chair for this innovative and driven organization,&#8221; said\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Omar Muhammad<\/span>, chair of the board, and director of MSU&#8217;s Entrepreneurial Development and Assistance Center (EDAC). &#8220;Myra served as chair with the utmost integrity and I intend to continue the momentum in this next year. After the challenges (Global Pandemic and Racial Inequities) posed on all of us last year, we plan to find more ways to support our entrepreneurs as we navigate this new economy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Omar brings many years of experience leading support for\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Maryland&#8217;s<\/span>\u00a0entrepreneurs. His service as board chair for TEDCO will be a gift both to TEDCO and to the State&#8221; said\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Myra Norton<\/span>, former chair of the board, and CEO of Arena Analytics. &#8220;I&#8217;m looking forward to seeing this new board leadership continue building the organization for its next stage of growth in service of a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Maryland<\/span>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>TEDCO&#8217;s new elected officials include the following diverse slate:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Chair \u2013\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Omar S. Muhammad<\/span>, MSU&#8217;s EDAC<\/li>\n<li>Vice Chair \u2013\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Chung Hei Sing<\/span>, Applied Derivative Research<\/li>\n<li>Treasurer \u2013\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Michael J. Howard<\/span>, MJH Group<\/li>\n<li>Secretary \u2013\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Jennifer Elisseeff<\/span>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Johns Hopkins University<\/span>\u00a0(JHU) School of Medicine<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;There aren&#8217;t enough words available for me to express my sincere gratitude for Myra&#8217;s support and encouragement,&#8221; said\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=1561978606&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Ftroy-lemaile-stovall&amp;a=Troy+LeMaile-Stovall\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Troy LeMaile-Stovall<\/a>, CEO, TEDCO. &#8220;I felt it from our first chat during the interview process and it continues to this day and always. TEDCO and I are truly indebted to her.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Excited seems too small a word for how I feel about having Omar as TEDCO chair,&#8221; said LeMaile-Stovall. &#8220;His energy, passion and creativity will amplify TEDCO&#8217;s mission to new heights. And having both he and I as black men leading TEDCO at this juncture of history isn&#8217;t an accident. I can&#8217;t wait to work with him and the TEDCO Board to bring real wealth expansion and inclusion to more Marylanders.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>TEDCO is managed by a<s>\u00a0<\/s>19 member\u00a0Board of Directors, 14 of whom are appointed by the Governor, two appointed by the President of the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Maryland<\/span>\u00a0Senate; and two appointed by the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates &#8211; each to staggered 4-year terms. The 19<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0member is the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Maryland<\/span>\u00a0Secretary of Commerce, who serves\u00a0<i>ex officio<\/i>.\u202f\u202fEach member appointed by the Governor is confirmed by the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>TEDCO&#8217;s full board of directors are: Chair,\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Omar S. Muhammad<\/span><\/b>, MSU; Vice Chair,\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Chung Hei Sing<\/span><\/b>, Applied Derivative Research; Treasurer,\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Michael J. Howard<\/span><\/b>, MJH Group; Secretary,\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Jennifer Elisseeff<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Johns Hopkins School of Medicine<\/span>;<b>\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">John Bohanan<\/span><\/b>, Cornerstone Government Affairs;<b>\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Kathie Callahan Brany<\/span><\/b>, FITCI;<b>\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Cliff Coppersmith<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Chesapeake College<\/span>;<b>\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Ellen Flowers-Fields<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">College of Southern Maryland<\/span>;<b>\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Matthew Lee<\/span><\/b>, FASTech;\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Myra Norton<\/span><\/b>, Arena Analytics;\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">John Parris<\/span><\/b>, Parriad, LLC;\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Kelly M. Schulz<\/span>,\u00a0<\/b>Maryland Department of Commerce;\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Amita Shukla<\/span><\/b>, Vitamita;\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Eben Smith<\/span><\/b>, Three|E Consulting Group;\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Francis Smyth<\/span><\/b>, Century Engineering; and\u00a0<b><span class=\"xn-person\">Robert Wells<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Miles<\/span>\u00a0&amp; Stockbridge.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=1177566830&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fomar-muhammad&amp;a=Omar+S.+Muhammad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Omar S. Muhammad<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0is an entrepreneurship ecosystem builder working with entrepreneurs, small businesses, corporations and government entities.\u00a0Currently serving as the director and EN-TRE-PRE-NEUR for the EDAC at MSU. He has been actively involved in entrepreneurship since the age of 12, served as a vice president for a non-profit organization where he operated a\u00a0<span class=\"xn-money\">$4 million<\/span>\u00a0small business loan fund within\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Baltimore&#8217;s<\/span>\u00a0Empowerment Zone, provided small business counseling and entrepreneurial training for women and other budding and existing entrepreneurs. He served as a business columnist for a national business newspaper and a business radio talk show host for 22 years on National Public Radio.\u00a0Omar is the board chair for TEDCO and serves on other committees to further build entrepreneurship ecosystems. Omar holds a Masters in Technology Entrepreneurship from the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">University of Maryland<\/span>\u00a0and a Bachelors of Science from\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Morgan State University<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=2712721729&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fchung-hei-sing&amp;a=Chung+Hei+Sing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Chung Hei Sing<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/b>is currently the CEO of Applied Derivative Research, an impact-oriented research platform leveraging technology to preserve and grow wealth in a way that positively impacts society. Passionate about impact, he is an advisor to AARP, an aging-focused nonprofit and board member to Corporate Esports Association, an esports for charity and HR-solutions focused organization. Previously, he served in a vice president capacity for a hedge fund and COO for a fintech blockchain organization. Prior to that, he deployed his multi-disciplinary investment and business experience across industries and asset classes to support the growth of various multi-million-, multi-billion-dollar investment firms and their portfolio companies. Chung is a graduate of\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">George Washington University<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Harvard Business School<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=3661854978&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fmichael-howard&amp;a=Michael+J.+Howard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Michael J. Howard<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0is a private investor, strategic advisor, board member and philanthropist.\u00a0He is the founding member of the MJH Group, a private investment and management consulting firm.\u00a0For more than 20 years, Michael has been able to translate his corporate vision and proprietary investment strategy into consistent economic returns and operational efficiencies for the firm and its clients. He was an early investor in several technology companies with successful exits.\u00a0In addition, Michael was named by a national publication as one of the top private investors in early-stage technology companies. Prior to forming the MJH Group, Michael had a distinguished professional career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the US Securities and Exchange Commission&#8217;s Division of Corporation Finance.\u00a0Michael is a Certified Public Accountant who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Morgan State University<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=1898857259&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fjennifer-elisseeff&amp;a=Jennifer+Elisseeff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Jennifer Elisseeff<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0is the Morton Goldberg Professor and director of the Translational Tissue Engineering Center at Wilmer Eye Institute and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at JHU. In 2004, Elisseeff cofounded Cartilix, Inc, a startup that translated adhesive and biomaterial technologies for treating orthopedic disease, acquired by Biomet Inc in 2009. Also in that year, she founded Aegeria Soft Tissue, a startup focused on soft tissue regeneration and wound healing. She is a member of the National Academy of Inventors (and advises a number of biotech companies around the country). She received a bachelor&#8217;s degree in chemistry from\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Carnegie Mellon University<\/span>\u00a0and a Ph.D. in medical engineering from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. In 2018, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine.<\/p>\n<p>Former Delegate\u00a0<b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=3198653303&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fjohn-bohanan&amp;a=John+L.+Bohanan%2C+Jr.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">John L. Bohanan, Jr.<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0joined Cornerstone Government Affairs in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-chron\">October 2015<\/span>. He served on the staff of U.S. House Majority Leader\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Steny Hoyer<\/span>\u00a0for 22 years, and as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">St. Mary&#8217;s County<\/span>\u00a0from 1999 until 2015. During this time, he served on the Appropriations Committee, chairman of the Education and Economic Development Subcommittee, member of the Capital Budget Subcommittee, and chairman of the Spending Affordability Committee.\u00a0For 21 years, John was principally responsible for interfacing with the Congressional District&#8217;s two largest military installations \u2013 Patuxent River Naval Air Station and Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center. John began his career on Capitol Hill and later became a senior staff member with Tracor Applied Sciences before opening an office as a project analyst and operations manager with SFA, Inc. His affiliations include: St. Mary&#8217;s County Historical Society; Historic Sotterley, Inc.; the Judith P. Hoyer Blue Ribbon Commission on the Financing of Early Child Care and Education; the Tri-County Council for\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Southern Maryland<\/span>; and the St. Mary&#8217;s County Juvenile Drug Court Team.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=1831401996&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fkathie-callahan-brady&amp;a=Kathie+Callahan+Brady\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Kathie Callahan Brady<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0is a passionate advocate for the start-up community because of its transformative impact on the lives of founders and team members as they, in turn, shape society&#8217;s future. As president and CEO of Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc. (FITCI) since 2016,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Frederick&#8217;s<\/span>\u00a0first and largest incubator\/accelerator, Kathie reenergized the organization, growing its client base by nearly 300% to 70 members in 2021. An entrepreneur and teacher, Kathie founded four successful companies in various industries and has over 30 years&#8217; executive-level experience in IT, real estate and business development, which she draws upon to help others achieve success.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=572783705&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fcliff-coppersmith&amp;a=Clifford+P.+Coppersmith\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Clifford P. Coppersmith<\/span><\/a><\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b>is in his fourth year as the president of\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Chesapeake College<\/span>\u00a0where he focuses on the mission to provide liberal arts transfer and workforce training programs for the region. Born in the West Indies, Cliff grew up in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Western New York<\/span>\u00a0and began his college education at\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Jamestown Community College<\/span>. A military veteran, he earned degrees at\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">St. Bonaventure University<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Oklahoma State University<\/span>. He was also an intelligence officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. Cliff began his higher education career teaching history and anthropology at the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">College of Eastern Utah<\/span>. He was later an administrator at the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Pennsylvania College of Technology<\/span>. Before joining Chesapeake, he was dean and CEO at City College at\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Montana State University in Billings<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=3854484073&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fellen-flowers-fields&amp;a=Ellen+Flowers-Fields\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Ellen Flowers-Fields<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0serves as associate vice president for Continuing Education and Workforce Development at the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">College of Southern Maryland<\/span>. She oversees all areas of the non-credit economic and community development programming including the Center for Trades and Energy Training, Maryland Center for Environmental Training, the Workforce Center, the SBDC, the Non-Profit Institute, the Transportation Center and adult basic education. Ellen has over 25 years of experience in workforce development and human capital management. Her diverse background includes supporting entrepreneurship and small business development efforts, acquisition, project management and implementation of various federal, state and local programs that address community economic development needs. Throughout her career she has acquired and managed over\u00a0<span class=\"xn-money\">$100 million<\/span>\u00a0in support of various economic and community development initiatives. Her affiliations include: Tri-County Council for\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Southern Maryland<\/span>\u00a0Executive Board Member; National Association of Workforce Development Professionals Member; and the Maryland Economic Development Association Member.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=2490428682&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fmatthew-lee&amp;a=Matthew+Lee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Matthew Lee<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0began his career designing optical data links for ground-based radar and circuits that serviced training devices at the Army Research Laboratory. As an electronics engineer, Matthew managed custom hybrid products in the Patriot Missile System used during Operation Desert Storm. He founded FASTech Inc, based in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Rockville, Md.<\/span>, in 1990. FASTech offers a wide range of services including custom application and database design, network engineering and desktop support, web technologies, digital audiovisual technologies, and cybersecurity. He received his master&#8217;s degree from The\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Johns Hopkins University<\/span>. \u00a0His affiliations include: KoBE Government Contracting Alliance President; Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Board; U.S. International Development Center President; Acting board member and commissioner, Baltimore Changwon (<span class=\"xn-location\">South Korea<\/span>) Sister City Committee; County-wide Recreation and Parks Advisory Board; and the Maryland Cybersecurity Council.<\/p>\n<p><b><u><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=1442845626&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fmyra-norton&amp;a=Myra+Norton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Myra Norton<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/b>\u00a0is the president &amp; CEO of Arena, a technology company that helps organizations vitalize, stabilize, and diversify their workforces to improve organizational performance and impact. Previously, she was the CEO of Community Analytics, an analyst at Northrop Grumman, a professor in Mathematics and Statistics at\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Temple University<\/span>,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Towson University<\/span>, and the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">US Naval Academy<\/span>, and an Administrator in the College of Science &amp; Technology at\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Temple University<\/span>. She serves as Immediate Past Chair on the Executive Committee of TEDCO. Norton earned a BS in Math Education from the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">University of Alabama<\/span>\u00a0and earned an MA in Mathematics and an MS in Statistics at\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Temple University<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=3228286476&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fjohn-parris&amp;a=John+C.+Parris\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">John C. Parris<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0is co-founder and managing partner at Parraid, LLC, a\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">St. Mary&#8217;s County, Maryland<\/span>\u00a0product engineering company focused on telemetry data and mission-critical communication solutions.\u00a0 Prior to Parraid, John was co-founder and CEO for Smartronix, Inc., which grew from a 3-person startup to a\u00a0<span class=\"xn-money\">$650M<\/span>\u00a0global IT and engineering solutions provider before being recapitalized by\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">New York City<\/span>-based OceanSound Partners in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-chron\">December 2019<\/span>. Specializing in Cloud Computing and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Smartronix was a multi-year leader in Gartner&#8217;s magic quadrant for global cloud transformation services and provided ISR support services for US Combatant Command clients on five continents.\u00a0 He is a 1986 graduate of the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Indiana University<\/span>\u00a0Kelley School of Business.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=3297754013&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Fkelly-schulz&amp;a=Kelly+M.+Schulz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b><span class=\"xn-person\">Kelly M. Schulz<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0is the secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce, with experience working in the government, private sector and as a small business owner. She is a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates and previously served as the secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor. At Labor, she managed an agency with nearly 2,000 employees and an operating budget of more than\u00a0<span class=\"xn-money\">$375 million<\/span>. While representing\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Frederick County<\/span>\u00a0in the Maryland House of Delegates, she served on the Economic Matters Committee with a special interest in legislation relating to financial institutions, economic development, labor and employment, unemployment insurance, and workers&#8217; compensation. Secretary Schulz obtained her Associates degree from\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Monroe Community College<\/span>\u00a0and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Hood College<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=2851113369&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Famita-shukla&amp;a=Amita+Shukla\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b><span class=\"xn-person\">Amita Shukla<\/span><\/b><\/a>is an innovator, entrepreneur, and writer passionate about helping minds unlock their potential. She is the founder and CEO of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=2214523029&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vitamita.com%2F&amp;a=Vitamita\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Vitamita<\/a>, which focuses on developing transformative ideas for human well-being, and the author of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=454155395&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fvitamita.com%2Fbook%2F&amp;a=Enduring+Edge%3A+Transforming+How+We+Think%2C+Create+and+Change\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Enduring Edge: Transforming How We Think, Create and Change<\/a>. Amita regularly advises individuals, teams, and organizations and delivers talks and workshops to diverse audiences. Previously, she spent close to nine years at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) where she evaluated and invested in healthcare innovations. Before NEA, she helped found and lead several startups. Amita serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Johns Hopkins<\/span>\u00a0and previously served as a Mentor-in-Residence at the university&#8217;s School of Medicine. Amita was first appointed to the TEDCO board in 2010 and is currently its longest-serving member. She holds a BA in biochemistry from\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Harvard<\/span>, an MBA from\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Stanford<\/span>, and 10 patents.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=1302815980&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Feben-g-smith&amp;a=Eben+Smith\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Eben Smith<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/b>is president of Three E Consulting Group with two decades of business management experience in both the public and private sector with key emphasis in supplier diversity, strategic sourcing, economic development, community engagement and contracting and procurement. Over the last 20 years he has worked closely with other regional, state and local leaders to create jobs, grow the economy and create capacity in the minority business community. His firm has provided consulting services on some of the biggest projects in the\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Washington<\/span>\u00a0metropolitan region including MGM National Harbor, The Clean Water Partnership P3,\u00a0PSEG Keys Energy Center,\u00a0Prince George&#8217;s County P3 for School Construction and the I-495 and I-270 P3 Program.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=930617692&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Ffrancis-smyth&amp;a=Francis+X.+Smyth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Francis X. Smyth<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0has served as the CEO and president for Century Engineering, Inc. since\u00a0<span class=\"xn-chron\">December 1996<\/span>, on numerous charitable boards and is a past chairman of TEDCO. Beginning his career by founding and growing a mid-Atlantic regional document storage company to one of the largest in the country, he orchestrated a sale to Iron Mountain Records Management. Continuing with Iron Mountain as a senior executive charged with growth through acquisition, Francis successfully transitioned to acquire his own company, Century Engineering, when Iron Mountain went public.\u00a0Guiding Century from a 90 person company to over 600 professionals offering services throughout six states, Century is now a partnership of key personnel building for the future. Francis graduated\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Princeton University<\/span>\u00a0with a bachelor&#8217;s degree in history,\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Loyola University<\/span>\u00a0Sellinger School of Business with an MBA and was awarded the 2007 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for business services in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Maryland<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=944985091&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Frobert-wells&amp;a=Robert+Wells\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Robert Wells<\/span><\/a><\/b>\u00a0is a principal attorney at\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">Miles<\/span>\u00a0&amp; Stockbridge.\u00a0 He focuses his legal work on healthcare regulatory and corporate matters, advising clients on a broad array of complex legal and operational matters, including corporate compliance and complex regulatory issues. His entire career has focused on counseling leaders and executives to help organizations achieve their business goals and objectives.\u00a0 Robert has served on the governing bodies of educational institutions, including\u00a0<span class=\"xn-org\">West Virginia University<\/span>\u00a0and Indian Creek School School in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Crownsville, Md.<\/span>\u00a0and has been selected for inclusion by Best Lawyers in America\u00a9\u00a0and recognized as a leading lawyer for healthcare by Chambers\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">USA<\/span>\u00a9.<\/p>\n<p><b>About TEDCO<br class=\"dnr\" \/><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=1598634404&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2F&amp;a=TEDCO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TEDCO<\/a>, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, enhances economic empowerment growth through the fostering of an inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. TEDCO identifies, invests in, and helps grow technology and life science-based companies in\u00a0<span class=\"xn-location\">Maryland<\/span>. Learn more at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=3815092119&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2F&amp;a=www.tedcomd.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">www.tedcomd.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Media Contact<br class=\"dnr\" \/><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3262171-1&amp;h=1169574007&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tedcomd.com%2Fabout-tedco%2Fstaff%2Ftammi-thomas&amp;a=Tammi+Thomas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span class=\"xn-person\">Tammi Thomas<\/span><\/a><br class=\"dnr\" \/>Chief Marketing &amp; Communications Officer, TEDCO<br class=\"dnr\" \/><a href=\"mailto:tthomas@tedco.md\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">tthomas@tedco.md<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/first-african-american-elected-chair-of-tedcos-board-of-directors-301357049.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>PRNewswire.com<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nPhoto by Benjamin Child on Unsplash<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By TEDCO\u00a0 COLUMBIA, Md.,\u00a0Aug. 17, 2021\u00a0\/PRNewswire\/ &#8212;\u00a0TEDCO,\u00a0Maryland&#8217;s\u00a0economic engine for technology companies, announced today that its board of directors<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2025,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1855"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2026,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1855\/revisions\/2026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}