Patty Simonton

Patty Simonton is an MCEDC Strategic Initiatives Manager, focusing on projects that drive entrepreneurial activity in the county. Among these projects, Patty is spearheading the organization’s efforts to streamline the entrepreneurial journey for founders in the county through the development of an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub.

Prior to joining the MCEDC team, Patty was the director of the Be Green Business program at Bethesda Green. In this role, she guided the Innovation Lab to become a federally recognized entrepreneurship support program for founders building for-profit business models around innovative and sustainable solutions to tackle environmental and social challenges. Patty considers herself to be a conscious capitalist, and brings extensive experience working with startups, social entrepreneurs and impact investors, and specializes in program management and operations, strategic planning, mentorship and for-profit business development.

She is a long-time mentor and former community manager for the Mentor Capital Network and an Activator for the Coralus community, where she invests in women and non-binary entrepreneurs working on the world’s to-do list.

Patty earned her degree in International Business from Georgetown University and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. She has also earned certificates in Entrepreneurship Center Management from the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA) and Impact Measurement and Management for Sustainable Development Goals from Duke University.