Kate Mereand, Program Manager For Tech & Innovation, DC DSLBD

Vernon interviews Kate Mereand, Program Manager for Tech & Innovation, DC Department of Small and Local Business Development. Vernon and Kate discuss the Stakeholders Co-op group, and other programs and initiatives of DC Department of Small and Local Business Development. Ms. Mereand provides one-on-one technical assistance to any DC-based business seeking to grow, with a special focus on diversity inclusion across all business industries and the tech sector. Her work includes providing support for the overall entrepreneurial ecosystem, to ensure it is both inclusive and innovative. She also conducts stakeholder groups and pilot programs to support specific populations in the District as they pursue entrepreneurship, including: youth, the disability community, cooperatives, and those involved with the justice system. To that end Ms. Mereand has been supporting a monthly, open stakeholder group on building the cooperative ecosystem in DC for the last six months, and will operate that programming through at least the end of 2017.