Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a two-vehicle collision on Georgia Avenue at the I-495 Beltway around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. (more…)
Maryland has secured federal recertification for continued compliance with REAL ID requirements, with 99.56% of the state’s licenses and identification cards REAL ID compliant as of September, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. (more…)
Talent is one of the most important factors influencing where companies choose to invest, expand, and grow. As competition for skilled workers intensifies, employers are embracing a broader talent strategy: one that leverages partnerships. Last week, almost 120 business leaders, elected officials, and members of Montgomery County’s business community attended the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation’s (MCEDC) panel, “The Talent Advantage: A Growth Strategy for Companies in Montgomery County, Maryland,” to hear how local businesses are capitalizing on the County’s world-class academic institutions, innovation ecosystem, quality of life, and economic development resources to attract and retain top talent.
Moderated by Dr. Anne Khademian, Executive Director at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG), the panel included executives from businesses and institutions across industries, including Lockheed Martin, TrilliumBIO, Thales Defense & Security, Johns Hopkins, Montgomery College, and AstraZeneca, who discussed their companies’ strategies for developing their workforce.
Talent as a Business Strategy
For companies competing in highly specialized industries like the defense industry, access to talent directly influences where they choose to locate and grow. For Lockheed Martin, which employs nearly 1,000 people in Montgomery County, talent is one of the primary reasons the company chose to be headquartered here.
“Talent is in the top one or two reasons why we are in the County,” said Todd Cohen, Senior Lead of Strategic Workforce Development, Lockheed Martin.
According to Cohen, Lockheed Martin begins working with partners to develop their talent pipeline well before students enter the workforce, including partnering with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) on programs such as coding challenges. Lockheed Martin also maintains close relationships with local higher education institutions, including the Universities at Shady Grove (USG).
That local talent pipeline is also an important factor for AstraZeneca, which employs more than 5,000 employees and contractors in Montgomery County. According to Tiffany Lukis, Director of STEM and Community Engagement at AstraZeneca, the company often taps into its alumni base from Montgomery College (ranked #26 nationally among community colleges) and USG (which offers nine different public universities onto one campus), and other local institutions to fill highly technical roles.
Local Companies Are Developing Talent and Not Just Finding It
According to the panelists, investing in existing employees is just as important as recruiting new ones.
At Suburban Hospital, workforce development is closely tied to talent retention. The hospital partners with local educational institutions to provide employees with opportunities to gain new skills and advance their careers. Programs include a Certified Nursing Assistant program through Montgomery College and English as a Second Language classes.
“A huge part of our talent strategy is to prioritize holding on to our top tier talent,” said Corey Lewson, MSW, Program Manager, Workforce Development, John Hopkins Medicine.
For smaller companies, developing talent internally can be especially valuable. Lane Edwards, Vice President of Operations, TrilliumBIO, a biomarker discovery company with fewer than 20 employees based in Rockville, described the challenge of balancing the need for highly specialized expertise with the realities of building a team at an early-stage company.
“When it comes to hiring, we have to be very strategic,” Lane said. “Do we have someone who has the expertise or someone that we can build on?”
Montgomery County’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) closed a record $143.9 million in loans during Fiscal Year 2026 to support the creation or preservation of 1,983 affordable housing units, according to the County’s latest Affordable Housing Pipeline Report. (more…)
Students are invited to attend the fourth annual “Buckets and Beats: The Silver Spring Youth Block Party” on Friday, Sept. 18 from 2-6pm at Veterans Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring.
When I moved back to Northern Virginia after several years in New York, most of my old friends had moved away. I found myself rebuilding a social circle from scratch.
I had plenty of people I could connect with online, but that wasn’t translating into anyone to grab a beer with after work, play trivia with, or text when I wanted to get out of the house. Making new friends as an adult required far more deliberate effort than I remembered.
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Come enjoy the day at our annual Washington Grove Arts and Craft Festival in a beautiful outdoor setting. This festival highlights local artisans including wood creations, pottery, visual art, household products and so much more. We also have food trucks from El Parente Tacos, El Jeffe Wood-fired pizzas, Bruster’s Ice Cream and beverages from Saints Row Brewery. Bring the whole family because we have a kids activity area too. Pets on a leash are welcome too!
Sabor Mixteco Taqueria, located in Wheaton in Montgomery County, has been named one of “The Best Cheap Eats Around the DC Area” by Washingtonian. (more…)
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Jeraly Haydee Jalvajan Chali, a missing 16-year-old. (more…)
Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen has permanently closed its location at Rio in Gaithersburg. A sign posted at the restaurant thanks guests and team members who made the Gaithersburg location part of the community and directs customers to the company’s nearby Miss Toya’s Creole House at 923 Ellsworth Dr in Downtown Silver Spring.
The Montgomery County Council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee will meet Thursday, September 17 at 1:30 p.m. to review the Infrastructure Funding Workgroup’s final report and the County’s reserve policies. (more…)
Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) Major Crimes Division homicide detectives are searching for a 21-year-old Gaithersburg man wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Nicholas Njuki earlier this week. (more…)
Orange Pocket, a Japanese and Korean-inspired pop culture and lifestyle retailer, will officially open at Rio in Gaithersburg on Saturday, September 19. Preview video available below.
Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland Department of Health announced Wednesday that $1.36 million in grants has been awarded to 17 organizations for programs aimed at preventing and reducing gun violence across Maryland. (more…)