UPDATE: Sairylin Marroquin has been located safe and unharmed. Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division are asking for the public’s assistance in locating […]
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The Washington Commanders have added veteran wide receiver Chris Moore to their practice squad. Originally drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Moore has participated in 111 games, starting 18 of them.
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?”
Coming soon signage is up for Peruvian Charcoal Chicken & Grill at 261 Kentlands Blvd in Gaithersburg.
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Update: According to Montgomery County Police, “At approximately 11:30 a.m., 3rd District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel were dispatched to the location for the report of a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian. The preliminary investigation has revealed that an adult female was struck by a vehicle at the location and transported to an area hospital where she later died. The driver of the striking vehicle remained at the scene. This is an active and ongoing investigation. More information will be released, including the name of the decedent, following proper notification of next of kin.
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October 10 & 11, 2026
The MoCo Epic is a festival celebrating mountain biking, natural surface trails, and the community that makes this region a great place to ride! 2026 marks the 16th anniversary of the MoCo Epic.
The Maryland Department of Environment released climate plans from 25 agencies outlining over 100 actions to reduce emissions and build a green economy, with implementation beginning in 2025 as part of Governor Moore’s “whole of government” strategy to meet the state’s ambitious climate goals. (more…)
Metro will provide extended service to ensure everyone can effectively plan their travel after the conclusion of Sunday night’s game between the Washington Commanders and the Atlanta Falcons.
MCPS has a few important dates to remember for its traditional calendar (all schools except Arcola ES). The dates for Winter/Spring 2025 can be seen below:
Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – 3rd District Investigative Section are asking for the public’s assistance in locating Ahmed Mustefa, a missing 70-year-old. (more…)
MidnighTreats has announced plans to open a new location near the University of Maryland campus in College Park, MD, in early 2025. (more…)
As 2024 winds down, we wanted to share with you some of the most-read articles of 2024. This article was originally published on May 12th, 2024, when we made a visit to Philadelphia, PA to try 18 different cheesesteaks.
Over the course of four days, during a trip to the cheesesteak capital of the world (Philadelphia, PA), we tried cheesesteaks at 18 different restaurants that are often mentioned as having “the best” cheesesteaks in the area- including the $140 cheesesteak from Barclay Prime. Below you’ll see a little more information about our process, followed by our big announcement at the end:
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) is investigating a shooting that occurred on Wednesday, December 25, in Silver Spring. (more…)