TEDCO, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, a state-affiliated venture organization that invests in and supports early-stage technology companies throughout Maryland, has welcomed Stephen Harrington as Director, Program Operations. Harrington reports directly to TEDCO President Tammi Thomas and serves as a strategic advisor and operational partner on the organization’s priorities, bringing 15 years of experience across economic development, innovation policy, and public-private partnership building to the role.
About Stephen Harrington
In his new role, Harrington coordinates activities across TEDCO’s Federal Engagements, Strategic Partnerships, Human Resources, Venture Development, Marketing & Communications, Finance & Technology, and Ecosystem Engagement functions, ensuring alignment and follow-through on the organization’s highest-priority initiatives as it advances its mission of fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology commercialization throughout Maryland. That cross-functional mandate draws directly on a career Harrington describes as built at the intersection of policy, capital, and community, using advocacy, research, and investment together rather than treating them as separate strategies.
Harrington joins TEDCO from the Comptroller of Maryland, where he served as Director and Head of Government Affairs, leading the agency’s legislative package through Maryland’s 2025 fiscal session and achieving a full passage rate on the agency’s priority bills while fending off hundreds of pieces of potentially damaging legislation. He currently also serves as Head of Strategy at the Center for Urban Policy, Insights, and Investment, a social enterprise focused on making urban economies more prosperous and resilient. Before his time in Annapolis, he spent three years at JPMorgan Chase & Co. as Vice President and Deputy Director, Research, Policy & Insights, serving as the firm’s public affairs lead for its policy division and building cross-sector partnerships connecting private capital, research, and policy to advance equitable economic growth.
Harrington’s career also includes leadership roles at Rocket Companies, where he directed policy, partnerships, and community investment across 15 business units and managed a multi-million-dollar portfolio of grantmaking and advocacy investments; the Greater Washington Partnership, where he served as an engagement officer convening private, public, and philanthropic leaders around housing, workforce, and regional competitiveness strategies for a civic alliance spanning Richmond to Baltimore; and earlier policy roles at the Center for American Progress, the National Governors Association, and The Pew Charitable Trusts. He holds a Master of Public Policy with distinction in Urban Economics from Brown University’s Watson Institute and a Bachelor of Arts in Classics, English Literature, and Literature of the African Diaspora from Morehouse College. He lives in South Laurel, Maryland.
Welcoming Harrington to the team, TEDCO President Tammi Thomas said: “Stephen brings 15 years of experience to his role as Director, Program Operations, where he reports to the President while serving as strategic advisor and operational partner on organizational priorities”.
About TEDCO
TEDCO (the Maryland Technology Development Corporation) is a state-affiliated venture organization that invests in and supports early-stage technology companies throughout Maryland, with a focus on building an inclusive innovation ecosystem. The organization provides funding, resources, and technical assistance spanning seed and venture capital, federal SBIR/STTR support, technology transfer, and entrepreneurial programming, helping founders across the state move promising technologies from concept to commercialization. Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, TEDCO plays a central role in advancing the state’s broader innovation economy, supporting entrepreneurs across sectors including life sciences, cybersecurity, and technology.
