MEDA Business Meeting

Anirban Basu is Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc., an economic and policy consulting firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland with an office in Indonesia. The firm provides strategic analytical services to energy suppliers, law firms, medical systems, government agencies, and real estate developers among others.

In 2014, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed him Chair of the Maryland Economic Development Commission (2014-2021). He also serves as chairman of the Baltimore County Economic Advisory Committee. He is also the Chief Economist to Associated Builders and Contractors and Chief Economic Advisor to the Construction Financial Management Association. He serves or has served similar functions for Visit Baltimore, Maryland Realtors, and Marcum, LLP.

He has lectured at Johns Hopkins University, most recently in Global Strategy, and has also taught international economics, urban economics, micro- and macroeconomics at Hopkins. His radio show can be heard weekdays on 88.1FM, WYPR, Baltimore.

In both 2007 and 2016, the Daily Record newspaper selected Mr. Basu as one of Maryland’s 50 most influential people. The Baltimore Business Journal named him one of the region’s 20 most powerful business leaders in 2010.

Mr. Basu has been on many boards over time, including First Mariner Bank, the Baltimore City Public School System, Port Discovery, the Baltimore School for the Arts, and Union Memorial Hospital. He is currently on the boards of the University of Maryland School of Law, St. Mary’s College, the University System of Maryland Foundation, the Center for Emerging Media, the Lyric Opera House and the Archdiocese of Baltimore School System.

Mr. Basu earned his B.S. in Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1990. He earned his Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and his Master’s in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park. His Juris Doctor was earned at the University of Maryland School of Law. His doctoral work was completed at UMBC with a concentration in health economics.

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.

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.

In his current role as Vice President of Financial Services for the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation, Steve is responsible for managing the, Arundel Community Reinvestment Fund, Anne Arundel Incentive Fund, the Next Stage Fund and the VOLT Fund. Steve is responsible for managing financial services staff and developing the protocols and processes used to manage the flow of applications for all of the corporation’s lending programs, from origination and underwriting to the closing and servicing of loans. Steve oversees a portfolio of approximately 100 small business loans totaling approximately $7 million.
Steve has more than a decade of finance and lending experience. Prior to arriving at AAEDC, he served as Vice President of Private Business Banking for BankAnnapolis. Previous to that, he was at the Harbor Bank of Maryland for four years as Vice President and Commercial Lending Officer.
Steve holds an MBA and a bachelors degree in marketing, both from Frostburg State University.
Steve has served on the Board of several non-profit organizations including the Maryland Economic Development Association Foundation, Arundel Child Care Connections, and the Maryland Commercial Lenders Lending Association. He is currently the Treasurer of the Maryland Economic Development Association.

Keasha Haythe has been an Economic Development Professional for 15 years and served most recently as Dorchester County’s Economic Development Director from 2008-2016. In her role as Director, she developed a track record of initiating sound policies and innovative strategies to foster economic growth. Partnering with private and public stakeholders, she championed education, entrepreneurship and expansion of existing businesses as key economic drivers. She unveiled a countywide brand marketing campaign entitled “water moves us.” Ms. Haythe spearheaded the development of Dorchester County’s Technology Park and developed the Eastern Shore Innovation Center, the first business incubator on the Eastern Shore, which opened on February 4, 2016. She has secured more than $10M in funding for economic development projects, business expansions and start-ups.
Ms. Haythe is now the President of Zoe Economic Development Group, LLC., an economic development consulting firm she launched in March 2016. She provides business consulting and advisory services to individuals, businesses and local governments. Additionally, she is the founding executive director of The Foundation of HOPE, Inc., a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization established to help women and young girls. The first program launched under the foundation will be the Economic Development and Empowerment Program for sixth grade girls attending Easton Middle School. The program will cover topics including: addressing low self-esteem, bullying, social media, workforce development, economic and community development, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. The program will teach them to be community leaders and viable contributors to the future workforce.
Ms. Haythe is a Certified Economic Developer, a national recognition of professional skill mastery that denotes the highest levels of professional attainment and a commitment to continued growth. She is a member of many professional organizations and serves on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center, the Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA) Foundation, and was appointed by Governor Hogan to serve on the Maryland Marketing Partnership Board under the Maryland Department of Commerce. Additionally, she also serves as President of the MEDA Board of Directors.
Awards Include:
2009-What’s Up Eastern Shore, Mover and Shaker under 40
2011-Delmarva African American Pride, Outstanding Achiever
2011-Dorchester NAACP, Day of Service Award
2012- Daily Record, Leading Women under 40
2014-Dorchester Ministers & Citizens for Change Honors Award
2015-Daily Record, Maryland’s Top 100 Women
2015-Talbot NAACP Harriet Tubman Medal
2016-Fireflies “100 Women of Elegance” Award
An Eastern Shore native, Ms. Haythe is a member of TriLife Christian Center in Easton where she serves on the finance committee, ministerial team as an Ordained Evangelist and oversees the usher’s ministry. She is married to Marcus L. Haythe Sr., and they have three children; Marcus Jr., Miniah and Isaiah.