2015 MEDA Annual Conference

Laurie Boyer is the Economic Development Manager in the Division of Fiscal Management for the Montgomery County Government Finance Department. She is responsible for overseeing the County’s economic development incentive programs and for managing contracts with third-party vendors who provide economic development-related services on behalf of the County.

Previously, Laurie served as the Executive Director of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI), a public-private economic development partnership in the City of Rockville, and as Executive Director for the Frederick County Office of Economic Development.

In May 2006, Boyer earned her professional Economic Development Certification (CEcD) from the International Economic Development Council. She has nearly 18 years of economic development experience.

Ms. Boyer is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery Class of 2014 and Leadership Frederick County Class of 1997, serves as Secretary of the Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA) Foundation Board, and is on the MEDA Council of Past Presidents. In 2012, she was named one of “Maryland’s Top 100 Women” by The Daily Record.

Ms. Boyer has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Spanish from Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA and a Master’s degree in Communication Studies from West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV.

Currently, Mindie Burgoyne with her husband Dan owns Travel Hag Tours and Chesapeake Ghost Walks – both subsidiaries of Great Blue Media. Both tour companies offer travel to mystical places or travel for the mind and spirit. Travel Hag Tours operates tours to Ireland’s mystical sites as well as organized tours in the USA, and Chesapeake Ghost Walks is a series of walks through towns on Maryland’s Eastern Shore that highlight the region’s haunted history. Mindie also works full time for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) offering rural economic development assistance to businesses and local governments in five rural counties on the Eastern Shore.

Prior to working for MD DBED, Mindie composed music for Catholic liturgies and spent six years as the publisher of Trinity Music and the Pastoral Press, a Catholic publisher of theological texts and music in Washington, DC. Before publishing, Mindie spent 17 years as in direct sales eventually operating a Tupperware franchise that required her to train and motivate a sales team of over 300 women. During this time she was achieved top recognitions in company sales both nationally and internationally. Throughout her business career, Mindie has simultaneously been a practicing writer and musician. After moving to the Eastern Shore in 2002, she gave up being a church musician and focused that energy on travel writing. To date she has written and published three books on regional travel in Maryland, and runs several popular blogs – Thin Places Mystical Tours of Ireland, The Travel Hag and Chesapeake Ghost Walks. All focus on travel and sites in mystical places that feed the mind and the spirit.

Mindie’s writing and photographs have been published by CBS News, National Geographic Television Network, Baltimore Sun, Vancouver Sun, National Catholic Reporter, Guideposts Magazine, Notre Dame Alumni Magazine, Arcadia Publishing, the History Press, Maryland Life Magazine and What’s Up, Eastern Shore? Mindie also works independently as a speaker and a trainer on social media and small business marketing.

Greg Cangialosi is an entrepreneur, and early stage investor based in Baltimore, MD. He is the CEO of MissionTix, and Chariman & co-founder of Betamore, a Baltimore based urban campus for technology and entrepreneurship. Prior to that his company, Blue Sky Factory, a leading email marketing service provider was acquired by WhatCounts in July of 2011.

Greg is also co-chair of the Baltimore Angel’s, and serves on the board of the Baltimore Development Corporation, the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship under the Secretary of Commerce. He holds a BA in English from UMBC, is a seasoned lecturer on marketing & entrepreneurship, and is also the lead author of “The Business Podcasting Book,” a primer on new media for marketers. Greg lives in Baltimore with his wife Theresa and daughter Gabriella, and enjoys traveling and lots of live music.

Dr. Michael H. Casson Jr., known as an “out of the box” entrepreneurial thinker, has utilized his expertise and insight to engage and support the citizens of Delaware and our global community for over 20 years. Specifically, Dr. Casson’s professional service includes, Lead Economist for the State of Delaware Department of Finance conducting cash-flow and input-output modeling; President and co-founder of the Delaware Multicultural and Civic Organization (DEMCO, Inc.), a non-profit entity focused on spurring economic and educational development in Delaware’s local communities; Board Member of Delaware’s Department of Education Professional Standards Board; Consultant and Co-PI for the West Africa Analytical Support Services and Evaluations for Sustainable Systems (ASSESS) and Africa Center of Excellent (ACE) projects; Lead Consultant and PI for U.S. Virgin Islands Asset Mapping project; Director and founder of University Center for Economic Development and International Trade (UCEDIT); and Director and founder of Economic Development and Leadership Institute.

Dr. Casson serves as Associate Professor of Economics for Delaware State University and his scholarship includes numerous refereed publications and presentations, both national and international, in a myriad of areas including economic development, fiscal impact analysis, economic impact analysis, and elementary and secondary education. Dr. Casson earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Florida A&M University, a Master of Arts in Economics (specializing in Mathematical Economics and Econometrics) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. in Agriculture and Resource Economics (specializing in Econometrics, Linear Programming, Public Finance and Industrial Organization) from the University of Connecticut.

Kim Clark is the Executive Vice President of the City of Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC). In her capacity as EVP she oversees neighborhood development, business development, capital budgeting, Small Business Resource Center, Emerging Technology Centers, Baltimore Main Streets program, marketing and research and analytics.

Among her achievements at BDC, Kim helped structure public private partnership financing for several major redevelopment projects, including several Tax Increment Financing (TIF) projects; the redevelopment of Belvedere Square, all parcels at Inner Harbor East, Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS) for several major developments, including the Westside and the several grocery store projects. She was instrumental in retaining several businesses of all sizes and assisted smaller businesses with expansions and in the development of the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore.

Kim is the Vice President of the Maryland Economic Development Association, Chair for Mission Advancement of the Urban Land Institute Baltimore Council, Second Vice President and Committee Chair of the Star Spangled Flag House, Board member of the Emerging Technology Centers, Leadership Maryland and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts and is a member of the International Economic Development Council. Kim graduated Leadership MD in 2009 and is a Greater Baltimore Committee Leadership Class of 2007 graduate.
Kim Clark is the Executive Vice President of the City of Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC). In her capacity as EVP she oversees neighborhood development, downtown development, capital budgeting, commercial revitalization, and urban design and planning.

Among her achievements at BDC, Kim helped structure public private partnership financing for several major redevelopment projects, including several Tax Increment Financing (TIF) projects; the redevelopment of Belvedere Square, all parcels at Inner Harbor East, Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS) for several major developments, including the Westside and the several grocery store projects. She was instrumental in retaining several businesses of all sizes and assisted smaller businesses with expansions and in the development of the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore.

Kim is the Secretary of the Maryland Economic Development Association, Treasurer of the Urban Land Institute Baltimore Council, Board member and Committee Chair of the Star Spangled Flag House, Board member of the Emerging Technology Centers, Leadership Maryland and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts and is a member of the International Economic Development Council. Kim graduated Leadership MD in 2009 and is a Greater Baltimore Committee Leadership Class of 2007 graduate.

David R. Craig, 65, a lifelong resident of Harford County, Maryland, became secretary of the Maryland Department of Planning in February 2015 after being appointed by Governor Larry Hogan.
Craig worked at several levels of government in Harford County. In his hometown of Havre de Grace, he was elected to the City Council in 1979 and went on to become mayor in 1985. He began service on a statewide level in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1991 and was elected as one of Harford County’s two senators in the Maryland General Assembly in 1995. He served as chair of the Harford County Delegation in 1998 and 1999. Upon completing his term in the State Senate, Craig was again elected mayor of Havre de Grace, a position he held until taking the office of Harford County Executive in 2005. As mayor, Craig served as president of the Maryland Municipal League.
Along with his government posts, Craig worked for 34 years with the Harford County Public School System. He began as a history teacher at Edgewood Middle School and went on to hold positions at Aberdeen and Havre de Grace Middle Schools. He retired as assistant principal at Southampton Middle School in Bel Air when he took on the full-time challenge of Harford County Executive.
Craig served as chair of the Board of Directors for the Baltimore Metropolitan Council and was president of the Maryland Association of Counties. He also served on the boards of a number of philanthropic and charitable organizations.
As Harford County Executive, Craig confronted issues such as comprehensive rezoning, Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), improved public schools and public safety and management of a budget exceeding three quarters of a billion dollars. Craig proposed an aggressive school construction plan as well as prepare Harford for future growth needs. He bolstered public safety, working with the sheriff, Harford County’s state’s attorney, and the Volunteer Fire and EMS Association to increase tools and training to meet the county’s growing demand for emergency services. Craig also pursued progressive stewardship of Harford County’s agricultural heritage.
Craig received a bachelor’s degree in history from Towson State College in 1971 and a master’s degree, also in history, from Morgan State University in 1983. He is a graduate of the Maryland Leadership Academy and the National Leadership Academy.
Born in Havre de Grace in 1949, Craig and his wife, Melinda, have three children and eight grandchildren.

Brian Darmody is Associate Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations, University of Maryland, and Special Assistant Vice Chancellor for Technology Development, University System of Maryland. He is responsible for developing overall university strategy for corporate and foundation relationships, and developing projects and policies to support these initiatives centrally and through the colleges and schools on campus. Previously, he was the University’s Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development, the Director of State and Federal Relations in the President’s Office, and served in the university’s legal counsel’s office. He serves on national and state boards, including Fraunhofer USA, the Maryland Venture Authority, and the Technology Council of Maryland, and is past President of the Association of University Research Parks. He holds a Juris Doctor and a baccalaureate degree.

Patrick Dougherty
Position
Chief Market Analyst
Professional History
Patrick joined the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore in June 2012, where he is responsible for directing the research efforts of the organization. In his time with EAGB, Patrick has authored State of the Market Reports covering Cyber Security and BioHealth in Greater Baltimore and has performed research consulting services for Baltimore-based organizations like R2integrated and Baltimore Gas and Electric. His work focuses on trends in the regional labor market and has been used by organizations such as the Baltimore-Washington Cyber Task Force and T. Rowe Price to inform and direct their Cyber Security development and workforce goals.
Patrick hosts a quarterly webinar to present an overview of the Greater Baltimore economy and his research on key industries in the region. He is responsible for the content, design, and production of content marketing materials like the EAGB Industry Profile series. As the author of a report on regional Education Technology Market Capacity, Patrick supported the launch of EdTechMD, an organization that aims to grow the creation and use of technology in classrooms around Greater Baltimore.
Education, Awards, and Memberships
Patrick graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University Maryland with a BA in Economics and received the Economics Medal for departmental excellence. During his time in college, he became a member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon International Economics Honor Society.
Patrick graduated as a part of Business Volunteers Maryland’s 2014 GIVE class. He was involved in a volunteer project with Alternative Directions that aims to improve the reentry process and reduce the rate of recidivism among formerly incarcerated young adults in Baltimore City.

Senator-Elect Addie C. Eckardt
April 2015
First elected to Maryland Legislature in 1994, Senator Eckardt currently serves in the Senate of Maryland representing District 37, Dorchester, Caroline, Talbot and Wicomico Counties. Senator Eckardt is a member of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, on the Health and Human Resources subcommittee, a member of the Joint Committees on AELR, Audit, Pensions, and Fair Practices and Personnel Oversight. While in the House of Delegates she was a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Health and Human Resources, Capital Budget, and Pension Oversight. She has also served as a member of the following Joint Committees; Welfare Reform; Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review; Joint Committee on Access to Mental Health Services; Committee of Children, Youth and Families, the House Special Task Force on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, and Spending Affordability. She is past Chair of the Eastern Shore Delegation, the House Republican Caucus and past President of the Women’s Caucus.
Senator Eckardt retired in 2003 as a full-time Psychiatric-Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist employed at the Eastern Shore Hospital Center since 1973. Past employment has included part-time psychiatric nursing clinical instructor for Salisbury University. She currently works part-time with the Dorchester County Health Department as a school health nurse. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland-School of Nursing with a Masters of Science degree and maintains certification as a Psychiatric Nurse Clinical Specialist by the American Nurses Association.
In the Community Senator Eckardt serves as a Board Member of the following organizations: Mid Shore Regional Council; Channel Markers Foundation, Inc.; Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center; Sailwinds, Inc., Talbot Hospice Foundation and Adventist Behavioral Health Board. Senator Eckardt also retains membership in the Maryland Nurses Association District IV. She is past President of the Maryland Nurses Association and Chesapeake Health Planning System, Inc.
Other accomplishments include: Graduate of Flemming Fellows Institute, Shore Leadership Inaugural Class and Leadership Maryland – 2001. She serves on the Health Committee for both the National Conference of State Legislatures, American Legislative Exchange Council, and is on the Board of Women’s Legislative Network. In 2003, 2005, and 2007 she was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women and as a three time winner, was inducted into the Circle of Excellence. She has received numerous recognitions and awards for her legislative activities.
She is married to Dick Eckardt of Cambridge and they have three married sons and nine grandchildren: The Eckardt’s are active members of Christ Episcopal Church in Cambridge.

Matt Felton, President

Datastory Consulting

Matt Felton is the president of Datastory Consulting where he helps business leaders clarify their data through the lens of a map using sophisticated Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. As Datastory’s chief strategy consultant, Matt helps businesses use their data effectively. He speaks in geek and sings in metaphor as he leads businesses to better strategic outcomes.

He’s been working with GIS technology since 1995 with a specific focus on commercial real estate and business decisions since 2008. Matt is an active presenter and contributor to industry publications. His team has been recognized nationally by Esri with a Special Achievement in GIS Award (2011) for their application of GIS to commercial real estate, and an Esri Business Partner Conference Award Nomination (2013 and 2014) for the team’s practical and innovative use of ArcGIS Online cloud-based technology. In 2012, Smart CEO Magazine named the Datastory Team (formerly MacKenzie GIS & Research) as Leader in Technology for its creative vision, leadership philosophies, innovative strategizing and undeniable work ethic .Matt was appointed by Maryland’s Governor to serve on the state’s Open Data Council, where he helps shape the future of data sharing and collaboration in Maryland.

Secretary Mike Gill is a business leader with four decades of experience as an entrepreneur, a veteran of large technology firms, and a public servant. He was tapped by Governor Larry Hogan to lead the Maryland Department of Commerce in January 2015. Prior to his appointment, Gill led Evergreen Advisors, an investment bank, as chairman and principal starting in 2008. Previously, Gill founded Hoyt Capital, an investment and advisory firm serving startups and growth companies. Gill also founded First Page, which was acquired by Metrical; served as chairman of Curtis Engine, a Baltimore power generator company; and was chairman of Bluefire Security Technologies, a mobile cybersecurity developer, from 2006 to 2008. In 1981, Gill founded AMERICOM, a Baltimore-based provider of cellular products and services to businesses in the area. Under Gill’s leadership, AMERICOM expanded nationwide with more than 1,200 employees and annual revenue topping $70 million in 2000, when it was acquired by Solectron. Gill remained with the electronics manufacturer as a business development executive until 2003. Earlier in his career, he spent time in sales and marketing at IBM, as Director of Data Systems in the mid-Atlantic region for Ernst & Young, and with American Teleservices, the majority shareholder of Cellular One. Gill served on the University System of Maryland Board of Regents from 2004 to 2009, heading the audit committee and technology transfer and commercialization workgroup. His past and present boar memberships also include the Calvert Hall Board of Trustees, Baltimore County Economic Development Commission, St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Bay National Bank, and Towson University of Board of Visitors. He is also a member of the President’s Advisory Board at Clemson University. Gill earned his B.S. in business administration from Towson University in 1974 after first attending Clemson University on a baseball scholarship. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Towson University in 1996.

Secretary of the Environment since January 21, 2015. Member, Governor’s Executive Council, 2015-; BayStat Subcabinet, 2015-; Governor’s Council on the Chesapeake Bay (Governor’s Chesapeake Bay Cabinet), 2015 Governor’s Subcabinet for International Affairs, 2015-; Smart Growth Subcabinet, 2015-. Chair, Asbestos Oversight Committee, 2015-. Vice-Chair, State Children’s Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council, 2015-. Member, Governor’s Intergovernmental Commission for Agriculture, 2015-; Animal Waste Technology Fund Advisory Committee, 2015-; Appalachian States Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission, 2015-; Baltimore Regional Transportation Board, 2015-; Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee, 2015-; Climate Change Commission, 2015-; Chesapeake Bay Trust, 2015-; Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 2015-; Coast Smart Council, 2015-; Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays, 2015-; Executive Committee for Dredged Material Management Plans, 2015-; Maryland Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council, 2015-; Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities, 2015-; Maryland Green Building Council, 2015-; Maryland Green Purchasing Committee, 2015-; Maryland Advisory Commission on Manufacturing Competitiveness, 2015-; Maryland Integrated Map Executive Committee, 2015-; Maryland Military Installation Council, 2015-; Interdepartmental Advisory Committee for Minority Affairs, 2015-; Task Force to Study the Impact of Ocean Acidification on State Waters, 2015-; Council on Open Data, 2015-; Ozone Transport Commission, 2015-; Pesticide Advisory Committee, 2015-; Maryland Pesticide Reporting and Information Work Group, 2015-; Renewable Fuels Incentive Board, 2015-; Scenic and Wild Rivers Review Board, 2015-; State Soil Conservation Committee, 2015-; Susquehanna River Basin Commission, 2015-; Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission, 2015-; Invasive Plants Advisory Committee, 2015-. Counsel, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, 2000-02 (environmental counsel & staff director to committees of U.S. House of Representatives, including science committee, 1985-2000). Assistant Administrator for Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004-08 (deputy assistant administrator, 2002-04). Director, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, 2009-10. Born in Kentucky. Wake Forest University, B.A. (english); Emory University Law School, J.D.; George Washington University School of Law, LL.M. (environmental law). President, U.S. Water Alliance, 2010-15.

Thomas Guevara in his capacity as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Affairs directs and supervises the activities of the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Office of Regional Affairs, including the Performance and National Programs Division and all six EDA Regional Offices. EDA’s Regional Offices are responsible for program delivery of investments that fulfill the agency’s mission of leading the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. Mr. Guevara brings over 24 years of management experience in financial advisory services, public-private partnership finance, and economic development program management and consulting.
Prior to joining EDA, Mr. Guevara served as a Director at Crowe Horwath LLP in Indiana, where he managed financial advisory services for over $1 billion in bond sales for public and public-private capital projects and delivered economic impact studies for projects totaling over $500 million. He previously worked for the state of Indiana as CIO of the largest state agency, where he was responsible for information technology projects and expenditures in excess of $140 million annually, serving over 8500 agency users statewide, and administered by over 250 employees and contractors. Mr. Guevara also served as Assistant State Budget Director at the Indiana State Budget Agency, where he headed the Health and Human Services division. Mr. Guevara’s budget oversight responsibilities included over $3 billion in agency budgets, meeting the Governor’s mandated spending reduction targets, negotiating budgets with agency heads and legislators, and implementing new spending plans.
Mr. Guevara also has served as an adjunct professor at Indiana University, teaching finance, management and budgeting courses to graduate and undergraduate students.

regory Heller is a practitioner and author with over a decade of experience in social-impact real estate, community/economic development, and urban planning and policy. Greg is CEO of American Communities Trust (ACT) where he is leading the Baltimore-based nonprofit to become a national community development partner, with the goal of “building social impact” in cities across the U.S.

Prior to his work with ACT, from January 2013 through November 2013, Greg worked as an independent consultant and Senior Advisor with Econsult Solutions Inc., a Philadelphia-based economics firm. There he worked on economic development projects with a focus food system initiatives, including Detroit’s food system study, feasibility for a kitchen incubator in Cincinnati, analysis of anchor institution procurement in Philadelphia, and a study of 135 kitchen incubators across the U.S. He also consulted for ACT during this period on the Baltimore Food Hub project.

From September 2009 to December 2012 Greg worked at the Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation, in West Philadelphia, serving first in a project management role, and then as the organization’s Director. Here Greg was project manager for the Center for Culinary Enterprises, a $6.5 MM, 13,000 square-foot kitchen incubator, with four shared-use kitchens, three retail spaces, and a TV-studio/classroom kitchen, which opened in 2012.

From 2006-2009 Greg was a design analyst at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, working on planning, policy, and grant administration projects. Here Greg was the primary author of “Promoting Civic Design Excellence for Philadelphia,” an agenda for improving the quality of the city’s urban design and development, funded by the William Penn Foundation. Following the publication of this report, Greg was invited to serve on Mayor Michael Nutter’s transition teams, where he helped implement the report’s policy recommendations. From 2004-2006 Greg was Director of Planning at the Parkside Historic Preservation Corporation, an affordable housing developer in West Philadelphia focusing on historic, adaptive reuse projects.

Greg is the author of “Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics and the Building of Modern Philadelphia” (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013), and Greg’s writings on urban design and development have appeared in a variety of local and national publications. Greg serves on several civic organizations, including his current term as Chairman of Families Forward Philadelphia, a homeless services organization. Greg is a founding board member of USA250, and founder of the Better Philadelphia Challenge, an annual, international urban design competition administered by the Philadelphia Center for Architecture.

In 2012 Greg was awarded Community College of Philadelphia’s Distinguished Leadership Award, and in 2008 he was named by Leadership Philadelphia one of the city’s “101 Emerging Connectors.” Greg is a graduate of Wesleyan University.

Dan Hoffman is the first Chief Innovation Officer for Montgomery County, Maryland, a position he has held since October 2012. He is responsible for creating and maintaining strategies and programs that generate innovative ideas in Montgomery County. The program he oversees serves as a laboratory for civic improvement and a safe place to test out new processes, technologies and ideas. He manages projects on a broad range of topics, from the Internet of Things (IoT) to autism technology to food security and more. Prior to his time at Montgomery County he was an appointee at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a recognized expert on open data, civic engagement and IoT policy. He holds degrees from The George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University.

Kenneth C. Holt was appointed by Governor Larry Hogan as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development on March 11, 2015. Mr. Holt’s distinguished career makes him well-qualified to direct one of the most successful and innovative state housing finance agencies in the country.
As a past member of the Baltimore County Master Plan Advisory Committee and a past president of his neighborhood civic association, he gained on-the-ground experience with neighborhood revitalization, development and housing issues. His experience as a past member of the Baltimore County Human Relations Commission gives him a strong foundation in issues of fairness and housing equity. And his 25 years high level experience in the financial market gives him a thorough understanding of bond markets and how they work.
Mr. Holt comes to DHCD after serving as chairman and chief financial officer of Traitify, a software development firm that was recognized by Maryland’s Technology Development Corp. as the “most innovative” start-up company of 2013. Before that, he enjoyed a 25-year career at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Baltimore, where he has served as Branch Manager, Senior Portfolio Manager and Senior Vice President.
As a member of the Maryland General Assembly (1995-1999), Mr. Holt served on the House Appropriations Committee and on the subcommittee on education and economic development.
Mr. Holt received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park. He and his wife Mary E. Holt operate a family farm in Kingsville, Md. The couple have two children.

Ranak K. Jasani

Ranak K. Jasani is a Principal in Miles & Stockbridge’s Baltimore office. She represents businesses in a wide variety of commercial matters in state and federal courts, at both trial and appellate levels. Her litigation experience includes cases involving trade regulation and antitrust matters, intellectual property, director and officer liability, fraud, commercial landlord/tenant actions, and general business and tort disputes. While Ranak’s practice extends to a variety of commercial and business litigation, the primary focus of her practice is antitrust counseling and litigation. She has counseled a variety of manufacturers, distributors, trade associations and technology companies on a wide range of antitrust and trade regulation issues in the context of corporate transactions, litigation and administrative enforcement. She also provides proactive antitrust advice directed toward finding solutions that support the client’s strategic business objectives and competitive goals, while fully meeting applicable federal and state antitrust requirements. She is involved in a variety of professional organizations including the Regional Management Institute (RMI) for Maryland and the World Trade Center Institute. In addition, she has presented a CLE Seminar for Practicing Legal Ethics in Maryland.

Ranak graduated from the University Of Maryland School Of Law, with honors, and was Editor-in-Chief of the Maryland Law Review. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from the University of Rochester.

Scott Levitan
Senior Vice President, Forest City Science + Technology Group
Development Director, Forest City – New East Baltimore Partnership

Scott Levitan is Senior Vice President of Forest City’s Science + Technology Group and Development Director for the Science + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins and the New East Baltimore Community — a $1.5 billion initiative directly adjacent to The Johns Hopkins University medical campus, under development by the Forest City New East Baltimore Partnership. The development includes life science research and office space, a range of different residential opportunities, new community school, park and a broad variety of retail services and amenities.

Mr. Levitan is responsible for establishing and implementing the strategic business plan for the Science + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins, advancing the development program, and managing local stakeholder relationships with development partners, Johns Hopkins and public authorities. He oversees marketing and leasing for all space at the Science + Technology Park, coordinates planning and design, and holds overall responsibility for the operation of the local office. In addition, Mr. Levitan directs Forest City’s broader efforts to expand the role it plays providing real estate to the life science and technology sectors throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Mr. Levitan brings to his work an extensive portfolio in large-scale, multi-use developments, specializing in university-related research parks. Most recently he was the Executive Director of Real Estate Development for Georgia Institute of Technology, where he oversaw all real estate planning and development activities for the university including the development of Technology Square, a 1.6 million-square-foot institutionally sponsored but privatized development initiative in Midtown Atlanta. In Atlanta, Scott served as Chairman of NPU-E and built strong relationships among GT and its diverse communities including Midtown, Home Park and English Avenue. Prior to Georgia Tech, Mr. Levitan served Harvard University in various capacities including Vice President of Harvard Real Estate, Director of Design and Construction and Director of University and Commercial Real Estate, where he was responsible for over 2 million square feet of property owned by Harvard.

Mr. Levitan holds a master of architecture in urban design from Harvard University, a master of science in conservation studies from the University of York in York England, and a bachelor of architecture from Louisiana State University. He is active in a number of real estate industry organizations, particularly AURP, the Association of University Research Parks, where he has served on its Board and teaches an annual “BioParks 101” seminar. He also serves on Georgia Tech’s Planning and Design Commission which provides strategic design and planning oversight for development of its campus.

Philip Malone:
Born 1958: Adelaide Australia.
My career has been all about following my passion, and never being afraid to change directions.
I’ve always like creating things, either with my hands, or in my head. I grew up and went to college in Australia, where an Applied Physics degree gave me crucial insights into the ways of the physical world.
Diving into the new field of micro-processors provided me an outlet for my creative needs, and a new tool for investigating the world around me. An opportunity to travel and work in the US shortly after college broke me from the traditional School-to-Job career path, and got me excited about taking charge of my own destiny as an independent designer.
The world of Deep Water Robotics was my playground for the next 10 years. I embedded new software systems into underwater robots, and created a software toolkit for assembling remote operator-display systems. This phase of my career culminated in a two week project, floating above the site of the RMS Titanic, watching robots feed live video of the shipwreck to the world.
Changing directions at the christening of the World Wide Web, I experimented with a range of automated web-server concepts that are now taken for granted. Creating shared web hosting, music databases and chat rooms provided me with a fundamental understanding of the potential of the internet for innovation and interconnection.
In 2000, an awakening to the issues of climate change and my own carbon footprint pushed me in the direction of sustainable living and energy efficiency. Moving to the mountains of Western MD enabled me to experiment with alternative energy and sustainable home design. My self-designed passive-solar, earth-sheltered, geothermal home is the culmination of this work. Featured online, and in print, OurCoolHouse.com was a model for internet-based energy-use monitoring and has created a global community.
Looking back on my own exciting career, I was moved to pay this legacy of innovation forward, to the youth of my new rural community. By leveraging an existing youth technology base, I established GEARS Inc. (the Garrett Engineering and Robotics Society) to act as an umbrella facility for a host of local and international STEM initiatives. Since its inception in 2006, GEARS has focused on exciting youth about careers in Science, Engineering and Technology, and has nurtured multiple young robotics teams to become world class innovators, and competitors. GEARS works with the business community, educators, 4-H and FIRST to develop STEM initiatives from 1st grade all the way up to college.
By immersing young children in an environment of innovation, GEARS strives to grow local economic development from within, by sowing the seeds of creativity, responsibility and empowerment.

Roger Millar is a Vice President of Smart Growth America. He serves as Director of the Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute, which provides technical assistance programs for state and local government, and as Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition. Roger has held leadership positions in the public and private sectors, as Manager of the City of Portland, Oregon’s Arterial Streets Division in the 1980s, and more recently as Director of the Missoula, Montana Office of Planning and Grants.

Projects in which Roger played a leadership role, particularly the development of Portland, Oregon’s Pearl District, the Portland Streetcar, the Roaring Fork Valley “VelociRFTA” Bus Rapid Transit system, and the “Envision Missoula” Long Range Transportation Plan, are cited as national models. He has also managed or participated in signature projects for rural, resort and gateway communities throughout the American West.

Roger is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a Certified Floodplain Manager. From 2000 to 2013 he was a member of the ASCE Committee for America’s Infrastructure, which produces the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. He is also Past President of the Oregon Section of ASCE and of the Montana Association of Planners. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1982. Roger lives in Billings, Montana and is married to Candis Millar, the City Planning Director. He has two teenage children and a Black Lab named “Ouzel.”

Mayor Lawrence J. Morrissey is the 40th mayor to lead the City of Rockford in northern Illinois and one of only four Mayors to serve ten years or more in Rockford’s history. Morrissey’s start as an innovation mayor began with his unusual path to public office, becoming the City’s youngest and only independent mayor when first elected in 2005. Over his three terms in office, Morrissey has continued decisive, visionary and innovative leadership during some of the City’s most challenging times.
No stranger to controversy, Morrissey has refused to back down from critical changes needed to support his vision of Excellence Everywhere for Everyone. From challenges in public education and public safety, to challenges in public investment in infrastructure, to labor negotiations and race relations, Morrissey has helped create and anchor the City’s role in vital community partnerships helping to bring about positive change.
During his first term, Morrissey introduced the City’s data-driven management system known as RockStat and has made data-driven decision-making a hallmark of his administration. RockStat demonstrates his commitment to open, transparent and accountable government. Monthly management meetings are open to the press and general public, provide a direct link to the government operations, and are the foundation for the City’s system of continuous improvement.
The Mayor also applied his data-driven, open and accountable approach to help start the Winnebago County Violent Crime Task Force and Parole Reentry Partnership. As a result of these efforts, not only has violent crime begun to fall, but also the Police Department has reduced officer-involved use of force incidents by 50% since 2009. In 2014, the Department had a record low of only one complaint for excessive force.
Since Morrissey was elected, the City moved its self-insured health fund from a $3 million deficit to an over $8 million reserve in 2012. This financial stewardship over the City’s Health Fund helped the City open a Health & Wellness Center in 2014, which supports a clinic and related services for the City’s employees and family members. The Mayor is currently working with local health and wellness providers and educators with the goal of launching a citywide Healthy Rockford Initiative in 2015.
Despite the extreme economic challenges of the past decade, under the Mayor’s leadership, the City has made record investments in public infrastructure while decreasing the City’s reliance on local property taxes to fund those investments. Over the course of Morrissey’s three terms in office, well over a half-billion dollars will have been invested with local, State and Federal partners in projects completed or underway. Collectively, the City’s investments in these public improvements are supporting record levels of building investment in the central city and historic Downtown.
The City has also partnered to support critical industrial economic development projects, including the Lowes Distribution Center; Accuride Foundry campus investments; PCI Pharmaceutical Packaging Plant Expansion; Global Trade Park investments including Wanxiang Solar Plant & Solar Farm and BE Aerospace
Manufacturing Plant; and the City’s contributions with the Chicago-Rockford International Airport, Winnebago County, and State and Federal governments to build a state-of-the-art aircraft maintenance and repair facility for AAR and the Rock Valley College Aeronautics Training Center.
In 2012, Morrissey’s Tweet to the CEO of online retailer Etsy led to a pilot project and partnership helping Etsy launch its international Craft Entrepreneurship Program. The Program supports entrepreneurship training to help individuals launch Etsy retail shops. The project was piloted at the Rockford Housing Authority and is now in a growing list of cities across the United States and foreign countries.
Recognizing growing opportunities to support entrepreneurs, Mayor Morrissey helped launch the Rock River Development Partnership. The now independent non-profit corporation founded the highly successful Downtown City Market. This seasonal outdoor marketplace brings thousands of visitors to Rockford’s Downtown and has been successful incubating and supporting numerous local consumer goods makers, farmers and retail businesses.
Mayor Morrissey founded the Rockford Maker Network to support and coordinate the community’s expanding maker education and entrepreneur movement. The Mayor was invited to the first White House Maker Faire in June of 2014. In October of the same year, he joined Etsy in accepting an international Place Marketing Award in Aix en Provence, France. The award recognized the innovative public-private partnership that brought together Etsy’s social retail technology platform with the City’s human capital and workforce training resources to support entrepreneurial pathways for traditionally disenfranchised individuals.
Morrissey has provided statewide leadership on critical issues facing urban communities in Illinois. He’s become a familiar face in the State Capitol on issues including public safety pension reform; collective bargaining and arbitration reform; and municipal bankruptcy legislative authority. He also helped pass the State’s River Edge Redevelopment Zone legislation providing critical tax incentives that have helped spur economic investment in Rockford and four other Illinois communities.
Morrissey’s current agenda includes a significant focus on regional challenges in public housing, community health and wellness, higher education and workforce training, and aligning the fragmented operations of human, social and economic development systems. The Mayor is a supporter of the privately led Transform Rockford initiative, which helped inspire his recently announced, Connect Rockford Partnership. This partnership is based on successful collective impact principles developed in the community’s Alignment Rockford public schools effort.
Mayor Morrissey has lived in Rockford almost all his life. Today, he lives on Rockford’s west side in the historic Signal Hill Neighborhood with his wife, Stacy, and four children, Seanna, Sophia, Dillon and Alden James. They are members of St. James Catholic Church. The Mayor cherishes his time with his family and enjoys working on projects in the family’s 100 year-old Victorian home.

Pete K. Rahn was appointed Transportation Secretary by Governor Larry Hogan on January 21, 2015. He is the first person to have led transportation departments in three different states. As Transportation Secretary, Mr. Rahn oversees a $4.9 billion annual budget (FY 2016) and leads 11,037 employees. The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) has direct supervision over all aspects of transportation including: the State’s highway, transit and rail networks; toll facilities; motor vehicles; Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport; and the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Rahn served as the Chairman of the New Mexico State Transportation Commission from 2011 to 2015. Mr. Rahn served as the Director of the Missouri Department of Transportation from 2004 to 2010 and Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department from 1995 to 2002. In both of these positions, from highways and transit to airports and freight rail, Mr. Rahn managed billions in multi-modal transportation investments to create jobs and enhance economic development, while focusing on innovation, teamwork, accountability and enhanced communication.
At the national level, Mr. Rahn was President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) from October 2007 to November 2008. He also served as a member of AASHTO’s Board of Directors, Chairman of its Standing Committee on Performance Management and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety. From 2006 to 2010, he served on the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board.

Mr. Rahn received a Bachelor of Arts, Government and a Bachelor of Science, Planning from New Mexico State University.

Mr. Rahn was raised in New Mexico and now resides in Maryland. He and his wife, Sue, have two children.

Kelly M. Schulz
Secretary, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR)
Kelly M. Schulz was confirmed as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) in February of 2015. A former member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing Frederick County, she served on the Economic Matters Committee from 2011- 2015. In addition to local issues, then Delegate Schulz took special interest in legislation relating to banks and other financial institutions, business, occupations and professions, economic development, labor and employment, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the Maryland Department of Labor from her years of experience working in the government, in the private sector and as a small business owner.
DLLR Secretary Schulz is proud to lead the agency that protects and empowers Marylanders by safeguarding workers, protecting consumers and cultivating a thriving workforce that can meet the demands of Maryland’s dynamic economy.

DLLR has several divisions including Unemployment Insurance, Occupational and Professional Licensing, Financial Regulation, Labor and Industry, Workforce Development and Adult Learning, the Maryland Racing Commission and the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board. The agency employs nearly 2,000 workers and has an operating budget of more than $375 million.
Prior to embarking on a career of public service, Secretary Schulz sold real estate, worked as a program manager for a defense contractor and was a part-owner of a cyber security firm. She has received several awards including the Outstanding Recent Alumna Award from Hood College in 2011, and is a member of several prestigious organizations including Women in Defense, the Fort Detrick Alliance and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. Kelly is also a Board member of the Frederick County Habitat for Humanity and is an active member of the Frederick Kiwanis Club, the Libertytown-Unionville Lions Club and the Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company.
Secretary Schulz obtained her Associates degree from Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York and later obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.
A native of Warren, Michigan, she currently lives in Frederick County, Maryland and has two sons, Brandon and Bradley.

Scott Raymond is Vice President of Education at Living Classrooms Foundation, a non-profit educational organization that provides hands-on education, environmental, and job training programs. Living Classrooms motivates and empowers youth to “learn by doing” to succeed academically, in the work place, and in their lives. For more than twenty years, Mr. Raymond has overseen Living Classrooms’ education and environmental programs department whose primary goal is to improve students’ academic progress in school settings, after school programs, and innovative environmental restoration projects.

Under Mr. Raymond’s leadership, Living Classrooms has inspired more than 250,000 students and teachers to improve Maryland’s environment. Signature programs include: wetland restoration, the creation of oyster sanctuaries (Fort Carroll), the implementation of the first “Trash Free Zone” in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and the construction of 50 floating wetlands. Currently, Mr. Raymond and Living Classrooms help to operate the Masonville Cove Environmental Education Campus, a unique, urban nature facility along the Patapsco River’s Middle Branch in South Baltimore.

In addition, Mr. Raymond oversees Living Classrooms’ Crossroads School, a Baltimore City Charter that opened in 2002. The Crossroads School serves 162 students, mostly African American Title I students. For more than a decade, it has been a top-performing City School and has excelled in both the Reading and Math Maryland School Assessment (MSA). Graduates from Crossroads have received full scholarships to 15 of the most prestigious private high schools in Maryland.

In 2010, under Mr. Raymond’s leadership, Living Classrooms partnered with Baltimore City Public Schools to “turn around” the Commodore John Rodgers School. CJR was a chronically underperforming school serving students in grades PreK-8. Utilizing the best practices of Living Classrooms and The Crossroads School, CJR evidenced improved academic performance in both Reading and Math by 25 points in the first two years. In 2013, CJR was recognized as one of the Top 3 Turn Around Schools in the United States.

Mr. Raymond also oversees two nationally recognized after school programs. The Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) Program currently supports the Commodore John Rodgers School with extended day and summer programming. The program is in its 18th year, and in 2010 received the William S. White Award from the United States Department of Education for most innovative after school program. The Turning the Corner Achievement Program (T-CAP) supports The Crossroads School and is in its 12th year. Among many accomplishments, T-CAP students wrote the book, The Rising Tides of Freedom, which they presented to Yale University and the Maryland State Department of Education’s Board of Commissioners. In 2013, T-CAP students produced a 30-minute educational documentary titled The First Light Machine. It chronicles the history of NASA’s space telescopes and highlights the James Webb Space Telescope, which will begin its mission in 2018. T-CAP students were flown to Houston for the international space telescope conference where they presented their documentary to over 300 scientists from 9 countries.