The 2023 MEDA Fall Conference will be held October 25, 2023 at the Antrim 1844 in Carroll County, MD and the theme will be Innovations in Manufacturing. Maryland boasts a thriving manufacturing industry that ranges from value-added agricultural to advanced biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
To receive a 20% discount on your room reservation for the 2023 MEDA Fall Conference, use the GROUP CODE ‘2310MEDAAT’ when booking on the Antrim 1844 website, select your stay dates as October 24-25, 2023, and be sure to choose the group code option, not the promotional code.
Kevin Atticks was appointed Acting Secretary of Agriculture on Jan. 18, 2023 and sworn in as Secretary on March 2, 2023. Prior to his appointment, Atticks was CEO (and founder) of Grow & Fortify, a company supporting value-added agricultural organizations and the businesses they represent. Grow & Fortify published the first assessment of the state’s value-added agricultural industry, illustrating the expansive impact generated by this sector, which includes wineries, creameries, meat processing, agritourism, equine and dozens of other industry segments.
Atticks was also the Executive Director of the Maryland Wineries Association, Brewers Association of Maryland and the Maryland Distillers Guild, and served as the President of the Maryland Agricultural Resource Council, and the Chair of the WineAmerica State & Regional Associations Advisory Council.
Atticks formerly served on the University of Maryland College of Agriculture’s Global Leadership Council, the board of Future Harvest and the board of the Maryland Tourism Coalition.
Originally from Bowie, Maryland, Atticks graduated with a journalism degree from Loyola University Maryland. Shortly thereafter, Atticks received a master’s degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. He later earned his doctorate in communications design from University of Baltimore. He holds a faculty position at Loyola University Maryland.
Maureen Donohue Krauss serves as the President and CEO of the Detroit Regional Partnership (DRP), a leading regional economic development nonprofit serving the Detroit 11-county region.
Krauss is an accomplished Economic Development Officer with a demonstrated history of leadership in economic development, non-profit, and government, in addition to extensive experience in guiding international companies to successful location decisions and growth in the United States.
Prior to her role at the Detroit Regional Partnership, Krauss was elected as the first Chief Economic Development Officer at the Indy Chamber, where she managed Accelerate Indy, a regional economic development plan announced by the Indianapolis Chamber.
While working at the Indianapolis Chamber, Krauss was responsible for providing leadership on programs and initiatives encouraging innovation and helping enhance business growth and acceleration. She focused on a nine-county region, with 2.3 million people, and 83 governments and municipalities as well as led the Amazon HQ2 bid for Indianapolis, resulting in the region becoming a finalist in the national competition.
Her journey as an economic development leader didn’t start in Indy. Before joining the Indy Chamber, Krauss served as Vice President of Economic Development and Business Attraction at the Detroit Regional Chamber. She was responsible for strategy, operations, and projects of the Chamber’s Business Attraction program, a key part of the Chamber’s economic development program portfolio.
She also worked for Oakland County Department of Economic Development and Community Affairs, an award-winning county agency for 13 years, where she led a team of over 100 staff — often traveling overseas on business attraction missions. She also participated in more than 60 trade missions in the past 18 years and continues to advance within the economic development space by serving on numerous boards and committees.
Board and Membership Timeline
• Krauss served as the President of the Michigan Economic Developers Association, along with serving three terms on the MEDA board.
• She is an active member of the German-American and French-American Chamber of Commerce and is on the Board of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce of Detroit, the Italian-American Business and Technology Council, and the British-American Business Council.
Awards and Recognitions
• Past recipient of the Arizona Economic Developer of the Year Award
• Received the Mike Conboy Professional Development Award from the Michigan Economic Developer’s Association
• Coordinated the development of platforms for marketing the region and led the region’s Top 20 Amazon HQ2 proposal.
• Has more than 30 years of experience in economic development.
Education
• Krauss earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Albion College and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan. She is also a graduate of Leadership Detroit Class 30.
President, Tulkoff Food Products since January 2005
• Employment History
o Tulkoff Food Products 18 years
o Swales Aerospace 2.5 years; Business manager aerospace products division
o Aronson, Fetridge & Weigle 3 years; Partner – computer consulting
o Peak Computer Solutions, Inc. 7 years; co-founder
o Swales & Associates – Thermal Engineer 7 years
o NASA/GSFC; Thermal Engineer 2.5 years
• Education
o Loyola College – MBA Finance concentration
o Bucknell University – BS Mechanical Engineering
• Professional & community involvement
o Prior Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Board member and Chairman (2 years chairman, 2 years member)
o Prior Member of the Regional Manufacturers Institute (RMI) Board
o Prior Member of the Maryland Manufacturers Advisory Board
o Valor Service Dogs Board Member
o Prior Volunteer for Big Brothers program
o Member of the board of the Baltimore Museum of Industry
o Board member of the Maryland World Class Consortia
o EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist 2015
o Pets On Wheels Volunteer
o Sheppard Pratt Volunteer
