Our Team
MBIA is led by people who build Maryland's startup ecosystem every day, in incubators, accelerators, universities, banks, and law firms.
Interim Executive Director
Hakim Dyer is an executive strategist, corporate financier, and ecosystem advocate. Over more than three decades in community development venture capital, loan funds, financial services, and entrepreneurial advising, he has helped mission-driven founders find the capital and strategy to scale. He holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA from Middlebury College.
Reach Hakim at hakim@mdinnovate.org.
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President
Shervonne Cherry is the Director of Spark Coworking and an entrepreneurial ecosystem builder. She heads operations, community development, and ecosystem growth for Spark, collaborative workspaces in Baltimore, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
Vice President
Mike Ducker is a global entrepreneurial ecosystem builder with more than 20 years of experience across 30+ countries. As Climate Tech Ecosystem Manager at the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator, he has helped 95 climate-focused ventures raise over $30 million in private capital. He has coached more than 1,000 entrepreneurs.
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Treasurer
Mike Thielke is the executive director of the Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center (ESEC), a nonprofit that advances the startup ecosystem across the Eastern Shore’s eight counties. He helped start hotDesks, a network of four coworking spaces, and is part of the group launching the PinOak Capital investor group.
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Secretary
Patty Simonton is the Founder of the Big Table Institute, a Maryland nonprofit that connects civic builders and mission-driven professionals. An IEDC-certified Entrepreneurship Development Professional, she previously managed strategic initiatives for the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation and directed Bethesda Green’s Innovation Lab.
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Director
Alicia Moran is the Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation, where she fosters the innovation and entrepreneurship community through a business incubator, an accelerator, and an international soft landing program.
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Director
Bret Schreiber is Senior Vice President, Life Sciences and Technology, at Fulton Financial Corporation, where he has worked for 20 years in government and community relations. He oversees a division that creates initiatives to support and grow the life science and technology industries across Fulton Bank's five-state footprint.
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Director
George J. Nemphos, managing member of Nemphos Braue, is an award-winning corporate attorney with decades of experience at large international law firms. He advises on entity formation, mergers and acquisitions, private placements of debt and equity, joint ventures, and corporate governance, and serves on several nonprofit boards.
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Director
Josh Barnes is COO and Owner at Harbor Designs & Manufacturing, an ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certified, FDA-registered product design, prototyping, and contract manufacturing organization. He also serves as a Maryland Business Opportunity Center (MBOC) Product Design and Manufacturing Expert.
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Director
Lisa Smith is the Founder and President of North Star Innovation Partners. She brings more than 30 years of national and international economic development experience, from innovation strategy and ecosystem building to early-stage capital programs and incubator design and management.
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Director
Dr. Stacy Wassell is the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Frostburg State University. Over 23 years at FSU, she helped create the university's business incubator and accelerator programs and now leads its Entrepreneurship and Innovation HUB.
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