To stand out, Howard County’s approach courts businesses from other regions while building connections inside, too.
The county hosts Cyber Howard, the state’s only cybersecurity-specific accelerator run by economic developers — a resource neighboring states like Pennsylvania and Virginia lack.
The winner of the spring cohort — Andrew DeFeo of Cipher — traveled from Philadelphia to attend the Howard County Economic Development Authority’s (HCEDA) program.
“Howard County right now is really the star,” Lombardo said, “in pulling and connecting the people and the companies together.”
By the numbers, Howard County generally matches or trails its neighbors in federal contract awards, but the county has become more competitive in recent years.