Leadership and Advisors
Our leadership agrees—the Innovation Plant stands as a bold vision for Washington College and the Upper Eastern Shore: a place where education and community converge to spark opportunity, creativity, and growth.
Rooted in collaboration and driven by a commitment to equity, the Innovation Plant embodies the future our leadership envisions: a college that not only educates but also empowers, transforming challenges into shared possibilities and setting the stage for lasting impact across campus, community, and region.
Innovation Plant Steering Committee
Raven Bishop
Director of Educational Technology
Sara Clarke-De Reza
Associate Professor of Education
Andrew Kaiser
Associate Professor of Practice, MEIF Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Charlie Kehm
Associate Professor of Physics
Pat Nugent
Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. Director of Civic Engagement
Caddie Putnam Rankin
Associate Dean of Warehime School of Business
Department of Political Science
Patrick Nugent
Thomas V. Mike Miller Director of Civic Engagement, Assistant Research Professor of Civic Engagement- 443-812-0778
- pnugent2@washcoll.edu
- The Custom House
Membership of Stakeholder Groups
Chair Thad Bench, Benchworks Health Group, Founder & CEO
Scott Budden, ShoreRivers, Executive Director
Paul Heckles, Colgate Palmolive, Worldwide Director, Global Project Management (retired)
Maureen Malley, Merrill Lynch, Vice President
Rosemary Ramsey Granillo, Kent County Local Management Board, Director
Sam Shoge, Rivers & Roads Consulting, Co-Founder & Partner
Justin Varga, Chesapeake Bank & Trust, Assistant Vice President & Loan Officer
Jon Wasserman, Paul Reed Smith Ltd., Senior Project Engineer
Chestertown & Kent County Government:
Jamie Williams, Office of Economic Development
Rosemary Ramsey Granillo, Kent County Local
Management Board
Jose Medrano, Ward 3 Town Councilmember
Kent County Public Schools
Florence Terrill, Garnet Elementary School
Christine Clark, Kent County Middle School
Tyrae Johnson, Kent County Middle School
Thomas Porter, Kent County High School
Business and Non-Profits
Jasmine Robinson, Minary's Dream Alliance
Bryan Matthews, Dixon Valve
Emily Murphy, Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne's
Jamie Barrett, Big Mixx Unisex Salon
Washington College
Carolyn Brooks
Darius Johnson
Pat Nugent
Sara Clarke-De Reza
Laura Chamberlin
Jaelon T. Moaney
Uptown Community Leaders
Wanda Boyer
Tyreke Demby
Monica Graves
Shauntey Jeffers
Akilah Johnson
Justin Munson
Karen Nicholson
Harold Sommerville
Beverly Sommerville
Shania Thomas
Bryan Matthews '75 M'86 P'12, President
Kiho Kim, Provost and Dean
"For Washington College to succeed in the 21st Century, we must serve as a regional catalyst for economic revitalization, entrepreneurship, and workforce development, while also achieving our core educational mission. The Innovation Plant will transform this new part of our downtown Chestertown campus into a nexus for economic, social, and environmental activities and create new pathways for undergraduate students and community members alike to learn and grow."
— Kiho Kim, Provost and Dean
Other Partners
Chesapeake College
Kent County Public Schools
Queen Anne's County Public Schools
Horizons of Kent & Queen Anne's Counties
Chestertown Farmer's Market
Minary's Dream Alliance
Minority Entrepreneurship Training Accelerator
Shared Earth Foundation
Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation
Kent County Food Council
Kent County Local Management Board
Kent County Office of Economic Development
MD Department of Commerce
MD Department of Housing & Community Development
MD Food System Resiliency Council
MD Governor's Office for Children
MD Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO)
Town of Chestertown
Upper Shore Community Development Partners
Upper Shore Regional Council
Dixon Valve and Coupling, LLC
Ewell Enterprises, LLC
Hegland Glass
RCM Strategic Consulting
Department of Political Science
Patrick Nugent
Thomas V. Mike Miller Director of Civic Engagement, Assistant Research Professor of Civic Engagement- 443-812-0778
- pnugent2@washcoll.edu
- The Custom House