TEDCO, Maryland’s state-backed venture capital firm, has announced that President Tammi Thomas has been named one of The Daily Record‘s 2026 Influential Marylanders, recognized during the program’s 20th anniversary. As president, Thomas leads the strategic direction and execution of TEDCO’s fundraising strategy, broadening awareness of the organization and expanding the philanthropic, corporate, and investor resources available to its programs. She reports to CEO Troy LeMaile-Stovall.
“This recognition is well deserved. Tammi’s dedication to Maryland’s ecosystem knows no bounds and has helped drive the state’s recent ranking as number one for emerging venture capital investments,” said LeMaile-Stovall.
Recognizing Maryland’s Leaders
The Daily Record launched Influential Marylanders in 2007 to recognize individuals for significant contributions and leadership across fields including civic leadership, education, finance, business, health care, law, philanthropy, real estate, and technology. The 2026 list also includes Sanjeev Singh Sahni, CEO of TEDCO portfolio company Xometry.
Growing TEDCO’s Reach at Home and Abroad
Under Thomas’ leadership, TEDCO has expanded its thought leadership platform and ecosystem engagement, including growth of its annual Entrepreneur Expo, which drew more than a thousand entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and industry leaders in 2025. The 2026 Entrepreneur Expo will take place October 27 at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor.
Thomas also helped position TEDCO to pursue international collaboration and foreign direct investment, including a memorandum of understanding with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, whose Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship exhibited at last year’s Expo. At the 2025 Expo, TEDCO signed two international agreements: a joint declaration with Korea Venture Investment Corporation to support startups scaling between Maryland and South Korea, and an agreement enabling up to $50 million in investment capital from the APAC Investment and Innovation Development Association TAIWAN (TAIIDA) and SFIC Group to co-invest alongside qualified TEDCO investment programs.
“Every dollar the state invests in TEDCO should attract more behind it. Tammi’s work expanding our base of private, philanthropic and international capital is how we multiply that public investment into real returns for Maryland’s economy,” said David Tohn, chair of TEDCO’s board of directors.
Capital and Programs Across the Company Lifecycle
TEDCO invests across the full company lifecycle, from pre-seed and seed through venture-stage funding, and provides non-dilutive capital, including matching funds for federal SBIR/STTR awards and grants that commercialize university research. Its programming includes the Institute for Women Entrepreneur Excellence, a Maryland nonprofit established with the state’s four historically Black colleges and universities that supports women entrepreneurs through cohort programming, workshops, and access to capital. TEDCO’s portfolio companies have generated nearly $2.7 billion in total economic impact for Maryland.
About TEDCO
TEDCO, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, fosters an inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem in Maryland, identifying, investing in, and helping grow technology and life science-based companies.
