The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is administering $25 million through Project Restore to provide financial support to Maryland’s new or expanding businesses to help incentivize commercial investment in vacant retail and commercial properties.
This information session is for MEDA members in partnership with DHCD. Please join us for an overview of the program and for the opportunity to ask questions about the program. The Project Restore application round is currently open.
Danny graduated from Crisfield High School, received an Associate Degree in Accounting from Wor-Wic Community College and Business Administration at Salisbury University.
Danny is the current Executive Director for the Somerset County Economic Development Commission for the past 12 years. His position entitles him to focus on the retention and expansion of existing employers and the recruitment of new businesses to assist in the economic growth of Somerset County. He was previously employed with the State of Maryland in the Department of Labor, Licensing, & Regulation Agency for 12 years and formerly worked at the Carvel Hall Plant in Crisfield as Human Resources Manager, Time & Motion Study Observer for 10 years until its closing. He also owned & operated the Circle Inn Restaurant in Crisfield for 10 years.
He was the Past-Chairman of the Crisfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Somerset County Economic Development Commission. Danny serves as a board member for the Maryland Economic Development Association, Lower Shore Workforce Alliance, and was formerly a councilperson for 8 years at the City of Crisfield. He is also active as a High School Sports official in soccer & basketball.
Danny was raised in Fruitland, Maryland until 1975 then later moved to Crisfield, Maryland. He moved to the Princess Anne area in 2008. He is married to his wife, Cheryl who is a private music teacher, has a son Keith who graduated from University of Maryland College Park majoring in Electrical Engineering, and has two grandchildren Daniel Ryon, and Kaiden Nickolas. He enjoys all types of sports, cooking, playing trumpet in church, & spending time with his family.
Amy Seitz has nearly twenty years of professional experience in both private and public sector enterprises. She was formerly the Director of Community Access & Partnership for the Division of Neighborhood Revitalization within the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Ms. Seitz was responsible for maintaining and cultivating relationships statewide with key stakeholders in community and economic development. In her role, she was responsible for strengthening and expanding the marketplace for the Division’s programmatic services and technical assistance including oversight of tax credit and grant programs totaling $5 million. Additionally, Ms. Seitz also served as the Statewide Coordinator for the Main Street Maryland program and State Leader for Keep Maryland Beautiful.
Prior to joining DHCD, Ms. Seitz worked as the Director of Development and Communications for Preservation Maryland and worked as the Executive Director for Hampden Village Main Street in Baltimore City. Ms. Seitz’s wide-ranging knowledge in strategic planning, public relations, marketing and economic development also includes work at the Howard County Economic Development Authority.
Ms. Seitz received her Bachelor’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. Her professional development includes the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Leadership certification and the Maryland Association of Nonprofits Standards of Excellence certification for nonprofit management.
Carol Gilbert is the Assistant Secretary and Director of the Division of Neighborhood Revitalization for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The Neighborhood Revitalization Division implements state and federal grant and loan programs totaling more than $65 million annually for the revitalization of Maryland’s traditional and historic communities and for addressing the needs of vulnerable residents.
Before joining DHCD in the Spring of 2007, Ms. Gilbert was Program Officer at the Goldseker Foundation, specializing in community development grant making in Baltimore City. While at Goldseker, Ms. Gilbert was founding co-chair of the Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition, a public-private partnership of more than fifty organizations working to prevent foreclosure and predatory lending practices.
In the 1990’s, Ms. Gilbert was executive director of the Neighborhood Design Center, a 40 year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to providing lower income communities with access to professional community design services. She received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Maryland College Park’s Graduate School of Architecture.
