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Montgomery County Commerce Cabinet Created to Support Economic Development

nicole cantarella

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2020

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Kristin O’Keefe, VP of Communications & Marketing
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Executive Order Designates MCEDC as Chair of New 14-Member Cabinet to Lead Collaboration of Business Development Initiatives and Major Job Growth Projects

Rockville, Md. — Under an Executive Order signed yesterday by County Executive Marc Elrich, the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) has been charged to lead a newly created Montgomery County Commerce Cabinet, which will focus on coordinating Maryland’s most populous County’s economic development activities. A copy of the Executive Order can be found here.

The interagency Commerce Cabinet will have 14 members representing executive branch departments, the County Council, and public-private organizations. In addition to the MCEDC President and CEO, membership includes the County’s Chief Administrative Officer, the Staff Director of the County Council, the President and CEO of WorkSource Montgomery, the Chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board, and seven County agency heads. Community feedback has resulted in the addition of two members to the Cabinet: the County’s Chief Equity Officer and the President and CEO of Visit Montgomery.

Modeled after a similar successful state interagency coordination structure, the Commerce Cabinet will work together to share information, identify joint solutions, and form strategic collaborations to support Montgomery County economic development projects and activities. MCEDC will chair and convene the bi-monthly Commerce Cabinet meetings and will oversee and staff its operations.

“The Commerce Cabinet can play a pivotal role in our County’s economic reopening and recovery strategy. A number of departments impact economic development as part of their mission, so I’m issuing this Executive Order because we’ll need interagency coordination to be successful. This is another step to make Montgomery County more effective and efficient,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “We resolve to come back from this pandemic stronger than before as we reopen our economy. Montgomery County is committed to a growing, sustainable, and inclusive local economy to support business growth, which will in turn generate increased revenues for the County to provide important services.” 

“The creation of the Commerce Cabinet is particularly timely given the economic priority of COVID-19 recovery, the reopening of our local economy, and the imperative to create more inclusive growth. Effective responses will require us all to work together. The business community will need to closely collaborate with government. We now have a structure to do so and achieve our full economic development potential,” said Benjamin H. Wu, MCEDC President and CEO. “Thank you to the County Executive for the confidence in the MCEDC and allowing us to strive towards business-led solutions.”

“Restoring our robust workforce as we recover from the pandemic is a critical component of the County’s economic recovery,” said Leonard Howie, Acting President and CEO of WorkSource Montgomery. “The Commerce Cabinet can help support collective strategies to help displaced workers find employment and deliver business solutions to strengthen our workforce.”

“I’m pleased that the County Executive is focusing on ways to improve coordination among government agencies that play a role in economic development,” said Casey Anderson, Chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board. “As an example, we have worked hard over the past several years to make sure that our agency consistently delivers high quality research and analysis to assist our elected officials in making decisions that will help Montgomery County strengthen its competitiveness and generate economic opportunities. We are looking forward to helping to lay the groundwork for recovery from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Commerce Cabinet is comprised of the following members, or their designees:

  1. CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, OFFICE OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE; 

  2. DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT; 

  3. DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF PERMITTING SERVICES; 

  4. DIRECTOR OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; 

  5. DIRECTOR OF OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT; 

  6. DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL SERVICES; 

  7. MANAGER OF THE OFFICE OF AGRICULTURE;  

  8. DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION;

  9. PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION;

  10. PRESIDENT AND CEO OF WORKSOURCE MONTGOMERY;  

  11. CHAIR, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING BOARD;  

  12. STAFF DIRECTOR FOR THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL;

  13. CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER, OFFICE OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE; AND

  14. PRESIDENT AND CEO OF VISIT MONTGOMERY

ABOUT MCEDC

The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) is the official public-private economic development organization representing Montgomery County, Maryland. Created in 2016, MCEDC is led by a Board of Directors of business executives. Its mission is to help businesses start, grow and relocate in Montgomery County by helping them gain access to top talent, business and market intelligence and prime locations. For more information, visit our website. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.