2020 MEDA Summer Conference
- This event has passed.
Theme: Diversity and Racial Equality — A Discussion for Economic Development
Communities that were distressed pre-COVID-19 are even more distressed today. And, many of these communities are comprised of minority business owners and entrepreneurs. How can economic developers assist these business owners and what are the unique challenges that they face? Attendees will learn about African American Business Owners’ Experiences.
Click here to view the agenda.
Click here to view the minutes from the May 19 MEDA Business Meeting.
When
Wed, Jul 29, 2020 @ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Conference Speakers
The 2020 MEDA Summer Conference Speakers
Heather Gramm joined the Maryland Department of Commerce as Senior Director of Strategic Industries and Entrepreneurship in June 2019. In this role, she oversees the development and implementation of the state’s efforts to grow the strategic industries of biohealth and life sciences, cybersecurity and aerospace, manufacturing, energy and agriculture. In addition, she oversees Commerce’s strategic initiatives for entrepreneurship, small business, and workforce development.
Prior to this role, she served as Deputy Director for the Frederick County Office of Economic Development overseeing the county’s business development efforts, including business attraction, retention and expansion, small and minority business development strategies, as well as industry-sector development in the county’s targeted sectors.
Heather has more than 17 years of experience in municipal, county and state economic development in a variety of roles including business development, community development and downtown revitalization. She earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Hood College and the Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) certification through IEDC. She serves as President of the Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA) Board of Directors.
Mr. Griffin has served as Director of Economic Development for the City of Frederick, Maryland since 2002. An urban planner and economic developer with 25 years of experience, Richard has worked at the city, county, and regional level in Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina and Washington.
During his tenure in Frederick he has overseen several million in public and private revitalization including the design and development of award-winning Carroll Creek Park and million’s in renovations and new infill development delivering jobs tax base in downtown.
His previous assignments include serving as the executive director of the Downtown Frederick Partnership, Program Manager of Comprehensive Planning for Loudoun County, Virginia and Senior Regional Planner for the Appalachian Council of Governments , and on the district staff of US Representative James McClure Clarke (11th NC)..
Mr. Griffin holds degrees from Western Carolina University and Clemson University. He serves on the Board for the Downtown Frederick Partnership, the Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc. and others.
Renée M. Winsky is the President and Chief Executive Officer for Leadership Maryland, a professional development program dedicated to building a better Maryland by harnessing the strength of the leaders throughout the state’s local businesses and communities. Each year, Leadership Maryland brings together a class of 52 local leaders selected from all sectors, industries, and geographic regions of Maryland to engage on the vital issues affecting the state and work to build solutions for real, actionable change. In this role she manages the day-to-day operations of the organization and facilitates the work of the Board of Directors. In accordance with the Corporation’s mission she plans and administers programs to develop leadership throughout the State. Prior to joining Leadership Maryland, Ms. Winsky served as the Executive Director of the Chesapeake Innovation Center, CEO of the Tech Council of Maryland, and as the President and Executive Director of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). She has held positions with the Information Technology Association of America (now TechAmerica), National League of Cities, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, Maryland Municipal League, and City of Greenbelt, Maryland. Ms. Winsky is also the president and founder of Bay One Group, LLC, a consulting firm that assists clients with a variety of subject matters, including economic development, entrepreneurship, government relations and advocacy, technology transfer and commercialization, university collaborations and partnering, and small business start-ups. Ms. Winsky is a member of the Maryland Commission on Service and Volunteerism, a Governor Larry Hogan appointment. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Economic Development Association and the Maryland Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee. She has served the Chesapeake Innovation Center, Maryland Association of CPAs, Maryland Business Incubation Association, Maryland Health Care Product Development Corporation, State Science and Technology Institute, UMBC Research Park Corporation, West County Chamber Government Contractor’s Guild, Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) and the Mid-Atlantic Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Winsky is a graduate of the University of Maryland and a graduate of the Leadership Maryland Class of 2005.
Tina C. Williams-Koroma founded TCecure LLC, a cybersecurity risk management services and solutions company headquartered in Maryland. She is a Maryland licensed attorney, and possesses a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), a M.S. in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a J.D. from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. Ms. Williams-Koroma has multiple Board affiliations: Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) (member and officer), UMBC Research Park (member), Baltimore County Department of Economic and Workforce Development (member), and is an Adjunct Instructor for UMBC’s Graduate Cybersecurity program. Ms. Williams-Koroma served as the Cybersecurity Academic Innovation Officer for the National Cybersecurity FFRDC (sponsored by NIST), 2017-2019.
Sonjé’ Productions (“SP”) is a full-service special event management, promotions, event staffing, non-profit fundraising, and virtual planning company.
Our company develops a plan of action and attack. Creating impactful marketing campaigns and special events by gathering clear client input, identity development, community feedback, and brand engagement, is what has helped SP develop long-standing client relationships. Each client is unique, each story varies, and each goal is different so the conceptualization behind building each brand and event requires creative ingenuity from a strong team. Through event marketing and other outreach, SP has branded companies by providing an unmatched experience for attendees and stakeholders. Creating an atmosphere with unique buildouts, event marketing tools, and activities has increased consumer loyalty and brand amplification for our clients.
SP also works to create partnerships and synergies for their clients to strengthen events, initiatives, and campaigns. Building partnerships helps expand the reach and brand amplification to untapped demographics and markets. Clients have benefitted and formed lasting relationships with businesses, public and private entities, and reached fundraising goals, which has led to increased resources for their companies.
SP also offers a dynamic team to run logistics on large scale events, conferences and conventions ensuring a seamless experience for guests. Our staff are highly trained event specialists that cater and deliver top notch customer service. Our team is dedicated to fulfilling each client’s goals and developing and aligning event strategy. Planning full scale conferences, galas, marketing campaigns has been SP’s strength and we have helped some of the country’s largest brands execute their vision.
CLIENT ROSTER
Baltimore City Public Schools BET Network
BWI Marshall Airport Blackdoctor.org
Carmelo Anthony Foundation CIAA
Diageo
Greater Baltimore Urban League Howard Hughes
Maryland Transit Administration Baltimore City NAACP
Radio One
Under Armour
The Athlete’s Foot Retailer
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Visit Baltimore
Vice President and co-owner of Optimal Solutions Group, co-owner of Revelo
Software and President & CEO (sole owner) of eGovMarket, LLC. Ms. Turner has 25 years of
experience in federal government contracting, information technology and advising on small
business entrepreneurship. Optimal, founded in 2000, is a public policy and analytics firm
(selected for Inc. 500) which has successfully executed projects across 50 states and in 24
countries. At Optimal, she started the software and analytics team which is appraised at CMMI
Level 3, has federal agency authorization-to-operate approvals and has launched commercial
products. These products include Revelo, Real-Time Surveyor and iAccessible. Prior to Optimal,
Ms. Turner won numerous awards at Northrop Grumman Information Technology where she
managed a start-up $100 million department focused on emerging markets and enterprise
technologies. In 2016, she founded eGovMarket, which has developed e-commerce platforms
for professional services such as translation, editing, section 508 and digital transformation. In
2018, she co-founded Revelo Software LLC, and end-to-end data tracking, analysis and
reporting SaaS platform.
Ms. Turner has served on technical expert panels for the University Maryland’s Smith School
Center for Health Information and Technology, the University System of Maryland’s Board of
Regents Technology Transformation/Analytics Working Group and Entrepreneurship and
Commercialization Committee, the State of Maryland’s Bio-Technology Innovation Boards and
she currently serves on UMCP’s iSchool iLead Advisory Board.
She and her husband have established endowed scholarships for the advancement of
behavioral, health, social science and information science research for the advancement of
under-deserved populations.
Tisa J.D. Clark is the President/Owner of J.D. Clark Professional Services, L.L.C. (JD Clark) and currently Board Chairwoman for the Prince George’s
County Chamber of Commerce (PGCOC). JD Clark is an Environmentally
Conscience and Energy Conservation savvy Construction and Maintenance Firm. JD Clark specializes in Facilities Maintenance, Grounds Management
and Renovations. JD Clark is a Section 3, a certified Baltimore City and Prince George’s County Based Small Business that is a Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) MBE/DBE/SBE Certified African American and Woman-Owned Construction and Maintenance firm with
core services in Property Preservation, Property Maintenance and Improvements. JD Clark is also Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation
(DDOT) DBE, Virginia SWAM, Small, Micro, Women Owned, Minority Owned, DBE certified.
Established in 2008, located in both Upper Marlboro and Baltimore, MD, is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program in Baltimore, MD, a graduate of the MDOT’s State Highway
Administration’s Business Development Accelerator Program (BDAP), is a graduate of the first cohort of the Prince George’s County’s Business Development Reserve Program (BDRP), a program developed by the Prince George’s County, MD County Council to mirror the Federal Government’s 8(a) program. Ms. Clark graduated from the Small Business Administration’s Emerging Leaders Program 2016. JD Clark is also a graduate of the
Prince George’s County Community College’s Center for Minority Business Development (CMBD) program and the Turner School for Construction. JD Clark serves Maryland and the District of Columbia. Her
processes focus on responsiveness to client needs and reliability of services provided. JD Clark’s dedication
to exceptional service has resulted in repeat client business, strong rapport with the communities in which
we operate, and favorable referrals for work completed.
Ms. Clark is a native Washingtonian. For over thirty (30) years, Ms. Clark has built a solid reputation to “fix
what is broken.” Ms. Clark is committed to providing quality service. She believes that a reputation as an
honest and reliable business is the recipe for success. While others seek to profit by cutting corners, or recommending unnecessary services to customers, Ms. Clark believes that a good reputation and consistent
service will reap bigger profits in the long run. By being trustworthy, Ms. Clark believes that she will enjoy a long-term profitable business.
Ms. Clark has been solving and resolving client’s Business Engineering problems for over twenty-five (25)
years. She is adept in taking programs and products from conception through delivery while cycling for
reengineering. She is a visionary with strategic analytical skills, who is practical, articulate, and creative. She has proven ability to solve difficult business problems and has a history of consistently obtaining high performance in others through leadership and cohesive team building.
In celebrating over twelve (12) years, in a male dominate industry, JD Clark posted a double-digit average percentage of annual growth and is currently one of Prince George’s County’s fastest growing small
businesses in the construction and maintenance services industry. In October 2019, Ms. Clark received the Top 100 MBE ® Award and the U.S. Commerce 2019 Minority Business Development Agency Business Center Award from Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC). In October 2018, JD Clark
received the Small Business of the Year award by the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce. In July 2018,
Ms. Clark received a Proclamation from the Prince George’s County Council. In March of 2018, Ms. Clark was
honored with a State of Maryland Governor’s Citation and by the Washington Business Journal as one the
2018 Minority Business Leaders of the Year. In 2017, Ms. Clark was awarded the SmartCEO Magazine’s Brava
Award for leadership and excellence. In 2016, JD Clark completed the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s
Emerging Leaders Program. In 2013, Tisa Clark, was featured in the Journal of Property Management where
she was recognized as one of the top Women Changing the World of Real Estate and Management. JD Clark
won the 2012 Emerging Business of the Year Award by Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce and the ranked 37th out of 53 in the 5th annual P&B 53 Exceptional Awards by The Gazette.
Ms. Clark has over twenty (20) years of experience in the primary and secondary mortgage industries spending five (5) years as a Director for Freddie Mac. She holds various degrees, licenses and certifications, a
few to mention are a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Management; a Project Management Professional Certification (PMP) with the Project Management Institute (PMI); Contractor/Salesman License with the
Maryland Home Improvement Commission of the State of Maryland, Department of Labor, Licensing and
Regulation; LEED Green Associate with U.S. Green Building Council, Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP)
with the Mortgage Bankers Association; Resident Producer Individual License with the Maryland Insurance
Administration; and is a Notary Public of the State of Maryland. Ms. Clark is a former Executive Board
member of The Arc of Prince George’s County; a board member of the Business Leadership Council of Prince
George’s Community College; a member with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC); and a member PMI.
Ms. Clark also has a philanthropic presence. She supports many organizations, such as Another Chance Foundation and others. She has personally adopted Croom Vocational High School in Prince George’s
County. Through this adoption, she provides supplies and monetary contribution as the needs arise. She has supported Croom Vocational High School since 2010. She has served as Principal for A Day with Prince
George’s County Public Schools since 2011 and often serves as a motivational speaker during career day at
several local schools. Most recently Ms. Clark serves as a mentor to three (3) young ladies who are matriculating in the Integral Prince George’s County Public School’s Pathways in Technology Early College
High School (P-TECH) program. In September 2018, Ms. Clark was inducted into the National Coalition of 100
Black Women, Prince George’s County, MD (NCBW 100). NCBW 100’s mission is to foster principles of equal
rights and opportunities; promote the awareness of Black culture; provide a forum for Black women to address educational, political, social and health related issues; develop the potential for effective leadership
and participation of its members in civic affairs and to cooperate with other organizations to achieve mutual goals. Ms. Clark accepted an invitation to The White House to address the Nation on Small Business Issues.
Being a woman, in a male dominated “construction industry” has been Ms. Clark’s greatest challenge. Ms. Clark had to use her program management expertise, her knowledge in the secondary mortgage and finance industries to master a new industry. Ms. Clark enrolled in various trade and construction related programs and classes. This allowed Ms. Clark to demonstrate business savvy, operational fortitude and political
savviness. Networking is very essential to her continued growth and evolution. Ms. Clark has been able to stay ahead of what is coming. Ms. Clark attracts qualified and skilled craftsmen, which allows her to exceed her client’s expectations. Instead of letting greed drive her, she lets the vision of the community legacy
drive, to slowly grow and maintain the quality of her Brand. She Transforms Communities Through Social Impact and will Manage Your Projects from Cradle to Grave.
Brandon Bellamy is a passionate and purpose-driven real estate entrepreneur and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of The Velocity Companies. Over the past 30 years, Mr. Bellamy has excelled in real estate investment, real estate development, and private fund management, and he has won numerous industry awards, including the Globe Street Opportunity Award. Mr. Bellamy couples a unique knowledge of market-rate and affordable housing development and a superior understanding of financial engineering to impact existing and developing communities.
During his tenure at The Velocity Companies, the firm has developed and consulted on projects located in the Mid-Atlantic and the Carolinas with an aggregate asset value exceeding $500 million. Mr. Bellamy specializes in municipal financing, tax increment financing, tax-exempt bonds, joint venture transaction and financing, public-private partnerships, planned community development and redevelopment, and an innovative way of researching emerging markets.
Under Mr. Bellamy’s leadership, The Velocity Companies has built a team of professionals that specialize in assisting clients in real estate investment and property development activities by analyzing real estate development and conceiving investment opportunities. Driven by their commitment to providing a significant impact in under-invested communities, the Velocity team boldly pursues projects that champion the health and vitality of local economies through meaningful development.
Mr. Bellamy is also the founder and principal broker for The Republic Real Estate Group and has been a featured speaker at numerous seminars on underserved communities. Mr. Bellamy remains committed to the communities he develops and the people his projects serve.
Conference Sponsors
The 2020 MEDA Summer Conference Sponsors
