The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) has named Dr. Stefanie Trop to the newly created role of Vice President of Economic Competitiveness, effective September 9, 2026. In the position, Trop will lead the collection, analysis, and interpretation of economic and market data to generate actionable insights and forward-looking indicators, expanding MCEDC’s research and business intelligence capabilities to help the organization anticipate challenges, identify growth opportunities, and align strategies with evolving business and workforce needs.
About Dr. Stefanie Trop
MCEDC President & CEO Jared Smith said Trop “brings a rare combination of analytical expertise, industry experience, and deep knowledge of Maryland’s business ecosystem,” adding, “She’ll help us turn data into insight, identify opportunities earlier, and make informed decisions about how we grow Montgomery County’s economy.” Trop said “the momentum in Montgomery County is palpable,” and that she looks forward to working with the MCEDC team and its local and state partners “to help tell Montgomery County’s economic story and showcase the County’s strengths and assets.”
Trop joins MCEDC from the Maryland Department of Commerce, where she spent nearly five years, most recently as Director, Life Sciences, leading initiatives supporting growth, partnerships, and investment across Maryland’s life sciences ecosystem. In that role, she directed the Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board and co-founded the Maryland MedTech Summit, helping scale its attendance, sponsorships, and regional stakeholder engagement. She rose through the department from Manager, Business and Innovation Development to Senior Program Manager before stepping into the director role in 2024.
Before her time in state government, Trop was a Senior Specialist in Data Science and Flow Cytometry at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, where she led customer-facing analytical engagements for biopharma and academic researchers using cloud-based single-cell analysis platforms. She joined Beckman Coulter through its acquisition of Cytobank Inc., where she worked as a Data Scientist in Scientific Affairs. Earlier in her career, Trop was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, where she discovered novel immune correlates of protection against enterotoxigenic E. coli in vaccine and human challenge clinical trials for the U.S. Navy.
Trop holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology from Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in Microbiology and Immunology, and Music, from the University of Rochester.
About MCEDC
MCEDC is Montgomery County, Maryland’s lead economic development organization, operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public-private partnership funded by Montgomery County. The organization works to attract, retain, and grow businesses and investment across the county’s targeted industries, including life sciences, technology, and other high-growth sectors.
