Leadership Maryland Announces Renée Winsky to Transition from President and CEO to Program Co-Facilitator
After eight years of dedicated leadership, Winsky will begin new role with organization in 2022
Annapolis, Md. (September 8, 2021) – Leadership Maryland is announcing that after eight years of dedicated leadership, President and CEO Renée M. Winsky ‘05 will transition to a new role with the organization at the end of 2021. The change comes at Winsky’s own request to redirect her focus from overseeing the administration of the organization to delivering the program’s content.
Beginning in 2022, Winsky will continue to serve Leadership Maryland as a co-facilitator of its eight-month learning program, guiding future classes in discussion as they engage on the state’s most vital social, economic and environmental issues. She will work in partnership with Eliot Pfanstiehl, the organization’s long-time facilitator who entered semi-retirement in 2020.
Winsky assumed the role of Leadership Maryland president and CEO in 2013 and during her tenure has steered many successful efforts to streamline the organization’s processes, expand its reach, and elevate its stature within the state. In addition to playing a key role in Leadership Maryland’s 2017 merger with Maryland Leadership Workshops, Winsky has managed both rebranding and strategic planning initiatives, conducted successful Legacy Fund campaigns, and introduced new sponsorship and lifetime membership programs which have contributed to the organization’s financial stability.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to lead this great organization for the past eight years. However, in the past year, circumstances in my personal life have compelled me to shift my priorities and my passions, both personally and professionally,” says Winsky. “What has always excited me most about our organization is the power of the Leadership Maryland program, and the transformational impact it has on participants. That is why I am excited to redirect my passion for Leadership Maryland away from the day-to-day operations to focus on guiding future classes through the experience. Our program is all about helping Maryland’s leaders identify and harness their best strengths to influence meaningful change in our state, and with this transition, I feel I am in a better position to do just that. I am grateful to have this opportunity.”
“In her tenure as president and CEO, Renée Winsky has made an indelible impact on every aspect of our organization,” said Jeanne Forrester Singer, Esq. ’07 (LM), Leadership Maryland board chair. “In addition to confidently guiding us through the challenges of a pandemic and ever-changing policy, she has secured new sources of revenue, expanded our programming, and inspired new excitement and interest among existing and potential members. On behalf of the board, we are grateful for Renée’s influence on Leadership Maryland’s long-term growth and success, and we fully support her decision to continue serving our members as co-facilitator of our program.”
Throughout her 37-year career, Winsky has been an active member of Maryland’s business community and a passionate advocate for growing the state’s economy and nurturing its most promising leaders. Prior to joining Leadership Maryland, she served as executive director of the Chesapeake Innovation Center, CEO of the Tech Council of Maryland, and as president and executive director of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). Winsky continues to sit on the board of directors of the Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA) and the Maryland School for the Blind, to serve on the Maryland Innovation Initiative, Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund and Maryland Venture Fund Authorities, and to run her own private consulting firm, Bay One Group, LLC.
The Leadership Maryland board of directors and executive committee plan to announce an application and selection process to find Renée Winsky’s successor as president and CEO this fall.
About Leadership Maryland
Leadership Maryland is a professional development program dedicated to building a better Maryland by harnessing the strength of its local business and community leaders. Each year, as many as 52 diverse and accomplished executives from Maryland’s public and private sectors are selected to come together as a class for an eight-month hands-on learning program focused on the state’s most vital social, economic and environmental issues. The first Leadership Maryland class graduated in 1993, and the organization’s alumni network now consists of more than 1,100 leaders from all industries and regions of the state. To learn more, please call Leadership Maryland at 410-841-2101 or visit www.LeadershipMD.org.
