Program Development Committee
The Program Development Committee plans quarterly conferences with great enthusiasm, creating content, securing speakers, and coordinating logistics. They also support MEDA’s Vice President in the development of the Annual Conference.
Committee members understand the practice of economic development and its partner disciplines, maintain a network of speaker contacts, and dedicate the time required to develop quality programs. The Committee has at least three face-to- face meetings and several conference calls per year in preparation for the conference, with additional work completed via phone and e-mail. MEDA makes every effort to populate this committee with regional representatives.
Committee members serve a one-year term beginning in May after the MEDA Annual Conference.
Committee Co-Chairs:
Lara Fritts is a certified economic developer with over 25 years of experience in economic development, community development and management. Her experience spans city and regional levels in both public and private sectors assisting companies to execute their location strategies or development projects while helping communities achieve their goals. She has an expertise in building economic development organizations for elected officials having started six public-private partnerships/departments.
Lara has an extensive career, having held positions in Wisconsin, Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, and Utah. Currently, she serves as the Division Director of the Frederick County Maryland Division of Economic Opportunity which oversees economic development as well as the Frederick County Workforce Services. Prior to her role in Frederick County – Lara was the only women leading a publicly traded micro-cap real estate company trading on the OTC Markets. There she stabilized the company by securing over $12M of affordable housing assets, reducing debt and teeing up the next acquisitions which would bring additional cash-flow to the company.
Her economic development experience is expansive, and a career highlight was serving as the Director of Salt Lake City’s Department of Economic Development (SLC DED) she was the architect of developing an economic development department where she oversaw three divisions – Business Development, the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake City Arts Council. In three years, she worked to bring more than 30 new companies to Salt Lake City including UPS, Amazon, Stadler Rail, and others totaling over 9,000 jobs and nearly a billion dollars in capital investment. With her team she helped to deploy over $44 million into an affordable housing strategy creating over 3500 units throughout the city.
Known as a community vitality champion she has strengths in economic recovery, affordable housing, strategic planning, tax credits and incentives, and organizational development. She is sought-after speaker and consultant on real estate, community revitalization, and economic development finance. Lara gives back to the economic development profession by volunteering, mentoring, and advocating economic development topics.
Lara holds a master’s degree in urban studies from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and a bachelor’s degree in regional analysis from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. She is the recipient of Consultant Connect’s Top 50 Economic Developers in 2019 and was named a Fellow Member of the International Economic Development Council in 2020 which honors economic development professionals for attaining unusual stature in their field and closely related disciplines
Stephen Rice serves as the Economic Development Manager for the City of Annapolis, Maryland. In this role, Stephen co-leads the Community and Economic Development Division within the Department of Planning and Zoning. He manages economic development projects, facilitates revitalization efforts and helps to recruit and retain businesses in the city. Stephen also advocates for policies that ensure that Annapolis continues to be a great place to start, grow or expand a business.
Previously, Stephen worked for American Communities Trust in Baltimore as Director of Community Development. In this role he worked with New Markets Tax Credits to revitalize challenged communities across the country. Stephen also served as Vice President of Business Development for the Howard County Economic Development Authority after a long tenure at the Greater Baltimore Urban League where he led the economic development team.
Stephen was raised in Columbia, Maryland and is a proud graduate of Wilde Lake High School. He then completed his undergraduate education at Morehouse College where he studied Economics. Stephen later completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Vanderbilt University and his Master in Public Administration (MPA) degree at Harvard University. He can often be found enjoying the wonders of Annapolis with his wife Edith and their daughter.
Committee Members:
Sarah Horta is Director of Innovation & Strategic Partnerships at Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO). She is responsible for fostering intentional relationships throughout the State and managing programs that will support growth in infrastructure, economic development, and innovation.
Sarah served as Manager of the bwtech@UMBC Cybersecurity Incubator while in graduate school. bwtech@UMBC houses 131 companies and organizations that employ nearly 1,900 people and have generated $700M in labor income and business sales. While at bwtech@UMBC she assisted in the growth of the CYNC Program, a partnership between Northrop Grumman and bwtech@UMBC, which provided enhanced technology oversight, program milestone development and integrated support with Northrop Grumman technology resources.
Sarah transitioned to Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation where she acted as Business Development Director, continuing to foster growth and offer support to IT/cyber companies in Anne Arundel County. She managed the Arundel Defense Tech Toolbox, which offered services to support entrepreneurs developing solutions in the national security space.
Sarah received both her B.A. in Political Science and M.P.S. in Cybersecurity from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She then went on to obtain her MCFE after completing the Digital Forensics Certificate Program at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC). Sarah is currently studying and looking to receive additional cyber certifications as well as her PMP in early to mid-2023.
Sarah played for the Division 1 Women’s Soccer Program while at UMBC and is from Fenwick Island, Delaware. She lives in Maryland her husband and son and spends her free time perfecting her golf game and watching Arsenal.
Julia Glanz is the Assistant Secretary for Strategic Initiatives at Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development. Glanz is responsible for shaping new initiatives to achieve the policy objectives of Governor Wes Moore’s administration and the operations goals of department Secretary Jake Day. Prior to joining DHCD, Glanz served as the City Administrator for the City of Salisbury, managing day-to-day operations across all the city’s departments since December 2016. She was the youngest, and first female to hold the City Administrator post. She also served as Acting Mayor and led Salisbury forward through challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustices.
A native New Yorker, Glanz moved to Salisbury in 2007 to study at Salisbury University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Political Science (2011) and a Master’s Degree in Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution (2013). Glanz has been a proud resident of the City of Salisbury for the last 16 years, but is moving to Greenbelt, Maryland this summer with her wife, Lindsey, and their four legged children.
Sharon Markley Schreiber serves as the Executive Director for the
Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT). With nearly
two decades serving in executive roles in education, economic and
workforce development, Schreiber provides strategic leadership for
the statewide nonprofit focused on enhancing businesses’
relationship in advancing Maryland’s workforce development and K-
12 education initiatives.
With experience working in state government, private industry and
education, Schreiber combines her skills to elevate the need for
industry to partner with schools in strengthening students’ access to
college and career pathways while building a robust pipeline of
future-ready talent for Maryland’s employers.
Schreiber holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from
Notre Dame of Maryland University. She also holds an executive
certificate from the Harvard Management and Leadership in
Education (MLE) graduate program.
As Director of the UMB Baltimore Fund, Mary engages a host of regional contacts and companies to promote and administer the program as well as support USM in the Baltimore region. The Baltimore Fund is a financial incentive for companies affiliated with University System of Maryland to relocate and expand operations in Baltimore City, including the BioPark and with other USM facilities and collaborative spaces. Additionally, Mary provides outreach and programming to support the innovation community including managing Anchor Ventures and as a member of the MIPS Review Board and TEDCO’s MII Board. Mary has been fostering economic development and technology innovation across the State of Maryland for over 20 years at the State, regional and local level.
I’ve had various roles in Economic Development since 2005. From my ten years at the Baltimore Development Corporation, several years heading up the rural Cecil County Office of Economic Development, and the past two years in suburban Howard County, I have a wealth of experiences across nearly all industries.
Cindy Stewart Rivarde serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. She combines her extensive experience and demonstrated success in creating vibrant downtown spaces, encouraging economic growth, and promoting cultural initiatives to lead REDI in new and inventive ways that attract, grow, and retain businesses within the City of Rockville.
She joined REDI after serving as the Deputy City Manager for the City of Coral Springs, Florida—a city with 133,000 residents and more than 1,000 employees. In that role, she helped to manage a $198 million annual budget and had direct responsibility and oversight of the Economic Development Office, Community Development Services, Community Redevelopment Area Operations, Communications and Marketing, as well as other departments.
Prior to her role as Deputy City Manager for the City of Coral Springs, Cindy served as Community and Economic Developer for the City of Modesto, California. Her broad responsibilities included economic development, community development, planning and zoning, building, and engineering and road design. She excelled in bringing in new business and fostering business expansion, creating marketing and development plans for city-owned destination assets, overseeing the operation of the Convention and Visitor Bureau, and securing funding and financing for various projects.
She obtained her law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law, a master of fine art in painting from Towson University, and a bachelor of arts degree in dramatic art/studio art from the University of North Carolina. Cindy invests in continuous professional development through education offered by the International Economic Development Council and remains active in the profession as a member of many industry-related organizations and frequent speaker.
2025 Annual Conference Committee:
As TEDCO’s Chief Development & Marketing Officer, Tammi is primarily responsible for the overall strategic direction, leadership, execution and management of TEDCO’s marketing and fundraising strategies designed to broaden awareness of and resources for TEDCO and its various programs; this includes the development and implementation of the organization’s brand, marketing, and communications strategy.
Her leadership and knowledge are instrumental in forging relationships that will enable TEDCO to expand their reach and services, diversify resources and grow the innovation ecosystem as well as establishing TEDCO as the most recognized organization in Maryland for identifying, investing in, and growing technology-based businesses. Driven by this mission, she serves as TEDCO’s internal subject expert on media and public relations, social media, brand messaging, marketing, and special events.
Her resume includes C-suite positions as the Vice President of Strategic Management at Data Solutions & Technology Inc., a full-service technology solutions provider; and as the Director of Business Development and Marketing at the University of Maryland Baltimore County’s Research Park & Business Incubator. Additionally, Tammi’s professional expertise was sought after to teach the next generation of communicators as an adjunct professor at Bowie State University and the University of Baltimore. She frequently speaks and publishes on such topics as leadership, entrepreneurship, and business development.
Tammi has been recognized by her industry peers for excellence in communication and marketing. She has received the Maryland Economic Development Association’s Marketing award for TEDCO’s Entrepreneur Expo (2020), the Cybersecurity Association of Maryland’s 2017 Cybersecurity Industry Resource Award and most recently was named one of The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women in Maryland (2023). She graduated from Leadership Maryland’s Class of 2018, completing the eight-month hands-on learning program focused on the State’s most vital social, economic and environmental issues. She serves on several boards, to include WeAchieve and MEDA, where she is currently serving as Vice President of the organization. Tammi earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Alabama State University and an MBA from the University of Baltimore. She is active in her community and serves in volunteer roles and on boards and committees for various schools and organizations in the region.
Lara Fritts is a certified economic developer with over 25 years of experience in economic development, community development and management. Her experience spans city and regional levels in both public and private sectors assisting companies to execute their location strategies or development projects while helping communities achieve their goals. She has an expertise in building economic development organizations for elected officials having started six public-private partnerships/departments.
Lara has an extensive career, having held positions in Wisconsin, Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, and Utah. Currently, she serves as the Division Director of the Frederick County Maryland Division of Economic Opportunity which oversees economic development as well as the Frederick County Workforce Services. Prior to her role in Frederick County – Lara was the only women leading a publicly traded micro-cap real estate company trading on the OTC Markets. There she stabilized the company by securing over $12M of affordable housing assets, reducing debt and teeing up the next acquisitions which would bring additional cash-flow to the company.
Her economic development experience is expansive, and a career highlight was serving as the Director of Salt Lake City’s Department of Economic Development (SLC DED) she was the architect of developing an economic development department where she oversaw three divisions – Business Development, the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake City Arts Council. In three years, she worked to bring more than 30 new companies to Salt Lake City including UPS, Amazon, Stadler Rail, and others totaling over 9,000 jobs and nearly a billion dollars in capital investment. With her team she helped to deploy over $44 million into an affordable housing strategy creating over 3500 units throughout the city.
Known as a community vitality champion she has strengths in economic recovery, affordable housing, strategic planning, tax credits and incentives, and organizational development. She is sought-after speaker and consultant on real estate, community revitalization, and economic development finance. Lara gives back to the economic development profession by volunteering, mentoring, and advocating economic development topics.
Lara holds a master’s degree in urban studies from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and a bachelor’s degree in regional analysis from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. She is the recipient of Consultant Connect’s Top 50 Economic Developers in 2019 and was named a Fellow Member of the International Economic Development Council in 2020 which honors economic development professionals for attaining unusual stature in their field and closely related disciplines
Julia Glanz is the Assistant Secretary for Strategic Initiatives at Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development. Glanz is responsible for shaping new initiatives to achieve the policy objectives of Governor Wes Moore’s administration and the operations goals of department Secretary Jake Day. Prior to joining DHCD, Glanz served as the City Administrator for the City of Salisbury, managing day-to-day operations across all the city’s departments since December 2016. She was the youngest, and first female to hold the City Administrator post. She also served as Acting Mayor and led Salisbury forward through challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustices.
A native New Yorker, Glanz moved to Salisbury in 2007 to study at Salisbury University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Political Science (2011) and a Master’s Degree in Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution (2013). Glanz has been a proud resident of the City of Salisbury for the last 16 years, but is moving to Greenbelt, Maryland this summer with her wife, Lindsey, and their four legged children.
With over 20 years of expertise across municipal, county, and state economic development, Heather holds a wealth of knowledge in transforming communities.
Heather’s career spans a range of economic development focuses, from business and community development to downtown revitalization. After graduating from Hood College with her B.A. in Business Administration, she started her career in economic development, working with the City of Frederick Department of Economic Development. She then transitioned to the Maryland Department of Commerce as Director of Regional Growth and Retention before returning to Frederick in 2017 to serve the Frederick County Office of Economic Development as Deputy Director.
Most recently, Heather served as the Assistant Secretary of Business and Industry Sector Development with the Maryland Department of Commerce.
In this role, Heather oversaw all aspects of the state’s business development efforts, including domestic and international business attraction and in-state business retention and expansion efforts; strategic industry sector development; economic development finance programs; and the agency’s advocacy and support for military and federal assets in the state.
Continuing her dedication to economic development, she became a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) in 2007 and is a graduate of the Leadership Frederick County (2011) and Leadership Maryland (2017) programs.
In 2012, Heather received the Leading Women Award from the Maryland Daily Record, which honors women under forty for outstanding career achievements. Recipients are chosen based on their professional experience, community involvement, and dedication to inspiring change.
Heather was honored by the Development Counsellors International (DCI) 40 Under 40 Awards in 2015, which celebrate the top forty economic development professionals under forty who show exceptional leadership, dedication, and innovation in their work every day.
Sarah Horta is Director of Innovation & Strategic Partnerships at Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO). She is responsible for fostering intentional relationships throughout the State and managing programs that will support growth in infrastructure, economic development, and innovation.
Sarah served as Manager of the bwtech@UMBC Cybersecurity Incubator while in graduate school. bwtech@UMBC houses 131 companies and organizations that employ nearly 1,900 people and have generated $700M in labor income and business sales. While at bwtech@UMBC she assisted in the growth of the CYNC Program, a partnership between Northrop Grumman and bwtech@UMBC, which provided enhanced technology oversight, program milestone development and integrated support with Northrop Grumman technology resources.
Sarah transitioned to Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation where she acted as Business Development Director, continuing to foster growth and offer support to IT/cyber companies in Anne Arundel County. She managed the Arundel Defense Tech Toolbox, which offered services to support entrepreneurs developing solutions in the national security space.
Sarah received both her B.A. in Political Science and M.P.S. in Cybersecurity from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She then went on to obtain her MCFE after completing the Digital Forensics Certificate Program at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC). Sarah is currently studying and looking to receive additional cyber certifications as well as her PMP in early to mid-2023.
Sarah played for the Division 1 Women’s Soccer Program while at UMBC and is from Fenwick Island, Delaware. She lives in Maryland her husband and son and spends her free time perfecting her golf game and watching Arsenal.
Sharon Markley Schreiber serves as the Executive Director for the
Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT). With nearly
two decades serving in executive roles in education, economic and
workforce development, Schreiber provides strategic leadership for
the statewide nonprofit focused on enhancing businesses’
relationship in advancing Maryland’s workforce development and K-
12 education initiatives.
With experience working in state government, private industry and
education, Schreiber combines her skills to elevate the need for
industry to partner with schools in strengthening students’ access to
college and career pathways while building a robust pipeline of
future-ready talent for Maryland’s employers.
Schreiber holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from
Notre Dame of Maryland University. She also holds an executive
certificate from the Harvard Management and Leadership in
Education (MLE) graduate program.
As Director of the UMB Baltimore Fund, Mary engages a host of regional contacts and companies to promote and administer the program as well as support USM in the Baltimore region. The Baltimore Fund is a financial incentive for companies affiliated with University System of Maryland to relocate and expand operations in Baltimore City, including the BioPark and with other USM facilities and collaborative spaces. Additionally, Mary provides outreach and programming to support the innovation community including managing Anchor Ventures and as a member of the MIPS Review Board and TEDCO’s MII Board. Mary has been fostering economic development and technology innovation across the State of Maryland for over 20 years at the State, regional and local level.
I’ve had various roles in Economic Development since 2005. From my ten years at the Baltimore Development Corporation, several years heading up the rural Cecil County Office of Economic Development, and the past two years in suburban Howard County, I have a wealth of experiences across nearly all industries.
Yanina’s role at LEDC is to help guide clients and small businesses through the loan application process. She assists clients with underwriting small business loan transactions, including business plan reviewing, financial and credit analysis, and recommending memos for review and approval. Prior to LEDC, she worked as a universal banker at BB&T. Yanina brings leadership and marketing experience to the role through her work at the Archbishop Borders School and Univision. Yanina has a wealth of professional skills from her time working in Peru, where she served as a director of communications, journalist, and key account manager. She is highly motivated and results-oriented in sales, marketing, and public relations roles. She strives to maintain the best customer service practices through her strong background in analyzing client issues, successfully negotiating solutions, and building exceptional internal and external relationships that consistently achieve LEDC´s objectives. Her hobbies include running, biking, boxing, traveling, cooking, and reading with a nice glass of wine.
Stephen Rice serves as the Economic Development Manager for the City of Annapolis, Maryland. In this role, Stephen co-leads the Community and Economic Development Division within the Department of Planning and Zoning. He manages economic development projects, facilitates revitalization efforts and helps to recruit and retain businesses in the city. Stephen also advocates for policies that ensure that Annapolis continues to be a great place to start, grow or expand a business.
Previously, Stephen worked for American Communities Trust in Baltimore as Director of Community Development. In this role he worked with New Markets Tax Credits to revitalize challenged communities across the country. Stephen also served as Vice President of Business Development for the Howard County Economic Development Authority after a long tenure at the Greater Baltimore Urban League where he led the economic development team.
Stephen was raised in Columbia, Maryland and is a proud graduate of Wilde Lake High School. He then completed his undergraduate education at Morehouse College where he studied Economics. Stephen later completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Vanderbilt University and his Master in Public Administration (MPA) degree at Harvard University. He can often be found enjoying the wonders of Annapolis with his wife Edith and their daughter.
Cindy Stewart Rivarde serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. She combines her extensive experience and demonstrated success in creating vibrant downtown spaces, encouraging economic growth, and promoting cultural initiatives to lead REDI in new and inventive ways that attract, grow, and retain businesses within the City of Rockville.
She joined REDI after serving as the Deputy City Manager for the City of Coral Springs, Florida—a city with 133,000 residents and more than 1,000 employees. In that role, she helped to manage a $198 million annual budget and had direct responsibility and oversight of the Economic Development Office, Community Development Services, Community Redevelopment Area Operations, Communications and Marketing, as well as other departments.
Prior to her role as Deputy City Manager for the City of Coral Springs, Cindy served as Community and Economic Developer for the City of Modesto, California. Her broad responsibilities included economic development, community development, planning and zoning, building, and engineering and road design. She excelled in bringing in new business and fostering business expansion, creating marketing and development plans for city-owned destination assets, overseeing the operation of the Convention and Visitor Bureau, and securing funding and financing for various projects.
She obtained her law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law, a master of fine art in painting from Towson University, and a bachelor of arts degree in dramatic art/studio art from the University of North Carolina. Cindy invests in continuous professional development through education offered by the International Economic Development Council and remains active in the profession as a member of many industry-related organizations and frequent speaker.
Having spent most of his professional life working in the tech industry, Adam Strott has a passion for exploring the intersection between economic development and innovation. Adam is a native of Annapolis and graduate of DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD.
Adam attended Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Maryland, earning a B.S. in Film. After graduating in 2012, he worked in Baltimore for a tech startup, later moving to São Paulo, Brazil where he earned he earned his M.B.A. in International Business at Fundação Instituto de Administração (FIA) in 2016. After working for LatAm based tech companies, Adam relocated to Miami in 2018 wherein he participated in a full-time International Studies M.A. at the University of Miami, focusing on sustainable economic development, all the while also working full-time as a software delivery and localization specialist for a tech firm in the aviation space. Adam speaks fluent Portuguese and Spanish, lives in Cumberland with his wife and young son.
Because MEDA is a statewide association dedicated to bringing quality programs to our members on the diverse topic of Economic Development, Program Committee Members are involved in program development based on their specialties.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the committee to bring your expertise in either of these topics, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at pamr@medamd.com or call 410-347-1246
