February 2019 Good Morning Rockville

Learn what is actually happening behind the scenes in Rockville economic development.

Our panelists from MCEDC and REDI will talk about promoting Rockville for business expansion.

The discussion will include the attributes that are promoted when Rockville and Montgomery County locations are presented to business recruitment clients, as well as the benefits shared with potential business expansion projects. MCEDC will discuss project pipeline in general, marketing, and their assertive (and timely) business recruitment travel.


Our Facilitator:

Carla Merritt - Senior Business Development Representative for the Maryland Department of Commerce, representing businesses that are located in Montgomery County since November 2016. Her role with the Maryland Department of Commerce, allows her to engage with the business community, local economic development entities as partners, on various projects, such as New HQ Attraction, Company Expansions and Business Retention, as well as, Workforce Training Programs, Funding and Tax Incentives, evolving from on job creation in the State and County. Ms. Merritt currently serves as a non- voting board member for REDI and MCEDC.

Partnering with the City of Gaithersburg EDC, MCEDC and REDI the MD Department of Commerce assisted in leasing of 217, 000 SF of Lab Space in the 4th Qtr. of 2018, Leases signed by Autolus, ReGenex Bio, Viagene, Kolon Tissue Gene and Kite Pharma, generated the most transaction activity, seen in Montgomery County, than the previous 10 years.

Prior to joining Maryland Commerce-  Ms. Merritt enjoyed a 20 year career in commercial real estate focusing on asset management, leasing, brokerage and development, in the District of Columbia, MD and VA. After a career working for highly reputable real estate companies such as JLL, CBRE, the Rappaport Companies, Ms. Merritt set out on her own, as founder of LeDroit Park Development Company, LLC and co-founder of NOMA Retail, LLC. A 1999 Alumna of the prestigious, Real Estate Associate Program (REAP) founded by ICSC in 1998. And a veteran of the Maryland /Army National Guard 629 th Military Intelligence Battalion, specializing in linguistics and interrogation. Ms. Merritt graduated from Hood College in Frederick, MD in 1986 with a BA in Pre-Law.

Our Panelists:



David Petr - Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation

David Petr is President and CEO of MCEDC, developing innovative strategies, strengthening
partnerships and leading a team to promote Montgomery County as the ideal place to start, grow and expand business in the county’s key industries. With a spectrum of economic development, strategic business and marketing experience, David thrives on changing the culture of organizations to become more nimble, proactive and creative. David was named to Washington Business Journal’s Power 100, Washington’s most influential newsmakers of 2017, after just 13 months at the helm of the organization. He is raising the profile of Maryland’s top-performing county, consistently out in the community meeting CEOs, entrepreneurs, startups and established companies. David’s expertise has contributed to rapid growth in key industries including Life Sciences and Technology. Through his responsive approach to the business community, he is aligning business needs directly to MCEDC’s strategic goals. He has spearheaded forward-thinking digital video campaigns: a Think Success video series where David interviews CEOs and business leaders and MOCO 365, a campaign that reveals the stories of leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators in the County. He is very involved in regional connectivity, collaborating with leaders throughout Maryland and throughout the Greater Washington area, understanding that regional business success is good business for Montgomery County.  David appreciates Montgomery County for its diversity of places, people and cultures. He loves exploring the many natural assets of the county, including the C&O Canal along the Potomac River. An avid photographer, he is frequently armed with his camera to capture the beauty of the county. David is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Texas at Austin.



Cindy Stewart - Rockville Economic Development, Inc.

Cindy Stewart serves as the new  Executive Director of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI), hailing most recently from Coral Springs, Florida where she served as Deputy City Manager over operations.  Previously she was the Community and Economic Development Director for Modesto, California and the Economic and Cultural Development Director for Coral Gables, Florida.  She has extensive experience with complex mixed use developments and public private partnerships, as well as redevelopment of downtowns.  She brings to economic development her commercial real estate background, having served as an attorney for The Rouse Company in Columbia, Maryland, as a real estate partner in the Baltimore firm of Shapiro Sher, and as General Counsel for the real estate company Terranova Corporation located in Miami, Beach, Florida.  In addition, Cindy has a background in the theater and in visual arts, having received her MFA in painting from Towson University.  Working in Economic Development has allowed her to use her creative and visual skills in placemaking and public art programming to make communities places where people want to live, work and play.