Malai, a New York City-based ice cream shop, opens in DC at 1407 T Street NW on Saturday, May 18, at 12 p.m. The shop “brings a taste of India in every bite and every cone, through its spice forward flavors, and its creamy textures. We are inspired by the traditions, culture, and heritage that India brings, and we show that through our products, hospitality and design.” Malai is owned by Pooja Bavishi, winner of Food Network’s Chopped Sweets competition.
The City of Rockville has announced that the State Highway Administration is currently paving, patching and sealing cracks on roadways in and around Rockville through late June.
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?”
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 3rd District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Porfirio Adolfo Diaz Sanchez, a missing 62-year-old from Silver Spring. (more…)
We ❤️ Teachers 5K celebrates educators through movement. On race day, runners and walkers across the country will participate in host city races, school celebrations, and virtual events — all in support of teachers and educator wellness. We'll be in beautiful Wheaton Regional Park, Join Us!
Walk it. Run it. Move for the teacher who moved you.
Approximately 65 Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) firefighters responded to a house fire in the 19600blk of Westerly Ave in Poolesville on Saturday, May 11, at approximately 11:53pm. (more…)
Montgomery Parks has released a list of special events and programs taking place during the month of May. (more…)
Ruta Ukrainian Restaurant is coming to 4862 Cordell Ave in Bethesda, the former site of Momo Chicken.
Remember BD’s Mongolian BBQ in Bethesda? Today we remember BD’s Mongolian BBQ. The Midwest restaurant chain had just one DC area location- at 7201 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. For 14 and a half years, from 1998 until August 2012, Mongolian BBQ provided a unique restaurant experience that attracted customers from across the county, state, and even NoVa and DC.
Two Adventist HealthCare hospitals – Fort Washington Medical Center in Fort Washington, MD, and White Oak Medical Center in Silver Spring, MD – have earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda also earned an A grade.
Flats 8300, at 8300 Wisconsin Ave, has sold for $129.8 million to Denver-based AIR Communities, according to a BisNow report. According to the report, the property was initially sold to the seller, Invesco Real Estate, for $207 million in 2016.