the ones
who make
it happen.

Nikki snyder

Executive Director

Nikki Snyder is a seasoned nonprofit and entrepreneurial leader with more than twenty seven years of experience in strategic operations, program development, and community partnership building. She brings a strong record of innovation and organizational growth to her role as Executive Director of the Northeastern Maryland Technology Council.

Before joining NMTC, Nikki served as Executive Director of the Discovery Center at Water’s Edge, where she strengthened operations for a new STEM education center, secured key grant funding, and expanded community programs and partnerships. She previously founded and led two successful companies, including a multi location family entertainment venture and a digital design firm.

Nikki attended the University of Maryland for Computer Science and is a past NMTC Innovator Award recipient. She is committed to advancing STEM opportunities and supporting the region’s technology and workforce development ecosystem.

CLAUDINE ADAMS

Claudine Adams, CEO and founder of Bravura Inc., has 30 years of professional experience, with increasing responsibilities throughout her career building operations and businesses. She was ranked number 1 in the nation for her performance at Xerox, and was the executive responsible for building Adams Communication to currently over $200M in annual revenue. Since founding Bravura in 2014, her company has been recognized as one of the fastest small business companies, and has been awarded the Best of Belcamp for Computer Support and Services for 2015-2017, 2019, and 2021.

Ms. Adams was given the Athena Leadership Award in 2022, an award given to women who achieve the highest level of professional excellence in their field. She also received the Visionary Award in 2019 for significant contribution to the wellbeing of the community.

Born in Philadelphia, PA, Ms. Adams graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. She then received a Master’s of Theology from Calvary Christian College in Waldorf, Maryland. She is a member of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution.

Chair

Kaitlin Corey

Legal Advisor

Kaitlin is a partner at Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP, Baltimore, and a member of the Maryland bar, with a strong focus on litigating and licensing copyrights and trademarks, resolving unfair competition matters, and negotiating business transactions and agreements.

Kaitlin most recently was voted to The Daily Record’s Leading Women Under 40, is the immediate past Chair of the Intellectual Property Section of the Maryland State Bar Association, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law teaching Trademarks and Unfair Competition Law each year since 2018.

She also serves as General Counsel for the Annapolis Police Foundation and as the Co-Chair of the Legislative Committee on the Board of the American Advertising Federation of Baltimore and is a prolific author with numerous articles published in national and state law journals.

Karen Holt

Karen Holt is director of the Harford County Office of Economic Development (OED). She oversees business retention and attraction efforts focusing on defense, technology, healthcare and manufacturing. Karen leads a team committed to facilitating business investment, entrepreneurial development and job creation to foster a diverse economy and expand the local tax base, enhancing quality of life for those who live, work, play, learn, invest, serve, and stay in Harford County.

Additionally, she serves as the County’s liaison to Aberdeen Proving Ground and the 100+ defense contractors located in Harford. Karen coordinates regional initiatives of the Chesapeake Science & Security Corridor (CSSC) Consortium supporting installation resiliency and workforce development efforts. She is also president of the Association of Defense Communities (ADC), a national organization dedicated to advancing issues that build strong defense communities and strengthen the ability for service members to defend the nation

Director, Harford County Office of Economic Development

Rebecca Pensero

Treasurer

Rebecca Pensero serves as the Coordinator of Supplemental Instruction and Career Programs for Harford County Public Schools. In this role, she leads initiatives that expand learning opportunities for students, including credit recovery, career exploration, and innovative instructional programs designed to keep students engaged and on track for graduation.

Rebecca works closely with school leaders, counselors, and teachers to design flexible pathways that support student success, improve attendance, and increase graduation outcomes. She has been instrumental in developing programs that provide students with additional academic support while helping them connect their learning to future college and career goals.

With a strong commitment to student-centered practices, Rebecca focuses on creating systems that allow every student to access meaningful learning experiences and achieve their individual goals. Her work emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and data-informed decision making to ensure programs meet the evolving needs of students and schools

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DR. MARY WAY BOLT

Dr. Mary Way Bolt, the fifth President of Cecil College brings thirty years of practice in the field of higher education to her office. Dr. Bolt demonstrates leadership and an institutional commitment to student success while supporting the needs of faculty, staff, and external stakeholders.

Dr. Bolt is known as a staunch advocate for higher education and economic development at the state, local and national level. She currently serves on the Maryland Association of Community Colleges legislative committee and executive committee. In this role, Dr. Bolt keeps a watchful eye on bills that could affect educational outcomes in the state and determines the best course of action to ensure that Maryland’s community colleges remain affordable and accessible for our students.

Dr. Bolt is a proud Cecil College graduate who earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. She subsequently was awarded a master’s degree in community health nursing from the University of Maryland at Baltimore and received a doctorate degree in higher education and leadership from Widener University. Dr. Bolt is also a graduate of the Harvard University Management Development Program, Aspen Institute, and the Cecil Leadership Institute.

Chris carr

Christopher Carr is the Founder of BSC Technology LLC, a small business headquartered in the Aberdeen Proving Ground area providing Tailored Business Development Services to clients. Chris’ roles as a business leader, client relationship manager, project delivery, personnel/staff cultivation, and team leader enable him to coordinate multiple efforts based on business needs. Using his Business Development and Software Tools experience coupled with his Program Management expertise and techniques, he assesses, prioritizes, reviews, and wins through adept scheduling of resources and strategic just-in-time activities that successfully pre-position business opportunities for long-term sustainable efforts.

Chris’ formal education includes a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Technology
Management and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Technology. He has been a
credentialed project management professional (PMP) since 2008 and a certified capture manager. Chris holds numerous volunteer roles: AFCEA Aberdeen Chapter, IRA, NDIA Aberdeen, NMTC, and AOC Susquehanna Chapter.

nicole funk

Nicole Funk is a Managing Director in Deloitte’s defense business with a current focus on Army clients and systems engineering. Prior to joining Deloitte in July of 2019, Nicole worked in support of the U.S. Defense missions, with an emphasis in Army, for 27 years.

Nicole has a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Biotechnology. She also has a certification in business strategy. Nicole began her career with a focus in weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including long range planning against threats in the areas of biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological weapons. 

Dr. PAMELA Pape-Lindstrom

Dr. Pape-Lindstrom earned her BS in Biology at the University of Miami, with minors in marine science and chemistry. She completed a PhD at the University of South Carolina, with research focused on marine ecology. Pamela spent 17 years at Everett Community College in Everett, WA, where she taught introductory biology, involved students in course-embedded undergraduate research projects, and developed courses in sustainability and systems thinking. Additionally, in 2012 she became a founding Fellow of the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education and her collaboration with this group has resulted in several peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Pape-Lindstrom joined Harford Community College as the Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in August 2017.

As Dean, Pamela has worked with faculty to create new programs in Data Science and Biotechnology. Recently, she served as the Co-Principal Investigator on a nearly $500,000 National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF-ATE) project to improve access to biotechnology certificate and degree programs for under-represented students at HCC. This work involved raising awareness of biotechnology careers with local high students and their families via outreach events. Dr. Pape-Lindstrom served as the Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs at HCC from April 2023 through Dec. 2023. She and her husband, Chris Lindstrom, live in Havre de Grace, MD and have two daughters.

dondre lawson

Dondre Lawson is the CEO of Emerald Technical Solutions and the Founder of Defense Interns, a non-profit organization focused on supporting community initiatives. With a dynamic background in technology, business, and leadership, Dondre actively contributes to technical education initiatives and student engagement in Harford County. Passionate about creating opportunities for youth, he serves on multiple local boards to drive community development.

His company, Emerald Technical Solutions, is also developing MILRES, an AI tool aimed at helping transitioning service members build civilian resumes and secure job placements. In addition to his entrepreneurial work, Dondre serves as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer in the Maryland National Guard, fulfilling his duties in an M-Day status.

Tracy M. Batman 

Tracy M. Batman leads Veritech’s daily operations and resource management. Before joining Veritech, Tracy devoted twenty-five (25) years in senior management and leadership roles as a Civil Servant, Federal Contractor, and in the U.S. Army Reserves. In each of these roles, she supported several Public, Private and Department of Defense (DoD) agencies to include joint services, as well as, Headquarters (HQ), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and HQ, U.S. Army Force Management Support Agency and HQ, Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO CBRN). Her roles have included direct support to Senior Executive Service (SES) & O4 operational management, Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) and Stand Alone Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) based contract management, Acquisition Category (ACAT) II & III programs, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), led multiple Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) contract developments, and directly supported Operation WARP Speed’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), four (4) Star General Perna. Tracy received her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute in 2022 and her Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification in 2024. Within the State of Maryland and Harford County, Tracy is devoted to serving her community with emphasis on Youth and Military. She serves on several Board appointments, Member committees, and/or Volunteer roles such as: the Harford County Chamber of Commerce (Board Member), Susquehanna Workforce Network (SWN) (Board Appointment), Maryland Girl Scouts of America (Board Appointment), Harford County Military Committee (Member), Chesapeake Professional Women’s Network (CPWN) (Member), Harford County Youth Committee (Member), Harford County Talent Alliance (Member), Maryland American Legion (Volunteer), Wreaths Across America (Volunteer), and Fostering Christmas (Volunteer).