Technology

Maryland Organizations Invest in Growth, Education, and Community

Published

2 years ago

May 23, 2024

The Maryland Marketing Partnership, which helps drive Maryland’s branding and marketing efforts to attract businesses, create jobs, and grow the state’s economy, today shared a summary of the latest news from companies and organizations that invest in the partnership.

BALTIMORE, May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Maryland Marketing Partnership, which helps drive Maryland’s branding and marketing efforts to attract businesses, create jobs, and grow the state’s economy, today shared a summary of the latest news from companies and organizations that invest in the partnership.

“With the state’s strategic location, modern infrastructure, and leading industries, Maryland has so much to offer businesses and individuals alike.” – Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson

“With the state’s strategic location, modern infrastructure, and leading industries, Maryland has so much to offer businesses and individuals alike,” said Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson. “Our Partnership organizations are proof of this and we encourage businesses of all sizes to explore the many advantages of locating in Maryland.”

BGE, based in Baltimore and Maryland’s largest natural gas and electric utility, is upgrading 260,000 streetlights with smart technology to improve public safety and outage response. Over 45,000 smart lighting controls (also known as smart nodes) have been installed on BGE-maintained street and private area lights to date. Deployment areas for 2024-2025 include northern Baltimore City and Baltimore, Carroll and Harford Counties. “BGE is currently recognized as an industry pioneer for smart lighting,” says Eric Barger, manager of new business overseeing this program. “In addition to the deployment of intelligent field technology, we remain innovative in the ways we capture, manage, and monitor data using our smart lighting operations software, all of which provides a better lighting solution and experience for our customers.”

Peterson Companies, a longtime Maryland business, announced Rio, Gaithersburg’s most celebrated shopping and dining destination, is now home to IKEA. The second location in the Peterson Companies portfolio opened in March and is among a handful of their new “Plan & Order Point with Pick-up” concepts open nationwide. Additionally, Locally Crafted, once a temporary storefront at Rio, has reopened in a new long-term space. The local women-owned business offers an impressive collection of artisan and hand-crafted goods created by local makers from in and around Maryland.

St. John Properties, Inc., based in Baltimore and one of the nation’s largest and most successful privately held commercial real estate firms, received the prestigious 2024 NAIOP Maryland Awards of Excellence for two projects. St. John Properties celebrated a renewal with Precision for Medicine to expand at Riverside Tech Park, occupying over 116,000 square feet of the Frederick, MD facilities. Additionally, they welcome Chipotle Mexican Grill, Charleys Cheesesteaks and Wings, Hibachi Express and TropQ Pizzato restaurants to Cromwell Business Park, a 165-acre mixed-use business community.

SECU, Maryland’s largest state-chartered credit union, recognized the barrier high four-year university tuition creates for community college students wanting to earn their bachelor’s degree. SECU MD Foundation is awarding $10,000 scholarships to 12 students enrolled at any Maryland community college who are transferring to a University System of Maryland university for the 2024-2025 academic year. Students currently enrolled at a University System of Maryland school who recently transferred within the last 18 months are also eligible to apply. Apply for a $10,000 SECU MD Foundation Scholarship by May 31.

Bozzuto, based in Greenbelt, ranked 11th in the 2024 The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) 50 largest apartment managers list. This acknowledgment came after the successful expansion of more than 100,000 apartment homes. Additionally, Bozzuto acquired Gables 12 Twenty-One in Rosslyn, its first acquisition in 15 years through the Strategic Multifamily Fund. Renamed The Alcott, the 132-unit boutique community acquisition supports Bozzuto’s larger effort to acquire more high-quality, stabilized assets across the East Coast.

United Therapeutics Corporation (UT) announced another first-ever success with the transplant of a UThymoKidneyTM, produced by UT, into a living person on April 12, 2024. Performed by surgeons at NYU Langone Health, this is the third xenotransplant using UT’s xeno organs, following two successful UHeartTM transplants at the University of Maryland Medicine in 2022 and 2023. It marks another positive step forward in the company’s aim to help address the shortage of tolerable, transplantable organs for all who need them.

Cloudforce, based in National Harbor, completed its 15,000-square-foot office expansion. It also continues to impact higher education, empowering educators nationwide to harness AI in the cloud effortlessly. Teaming up with Microsoft, Cloudforce sponsored hackathons. Cloudforce held a free 5-day Bootcamp on AI to prepare local jobseekers for success; and presented at the Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium (MEEC), Blacks at Microsoft Minority Day, and the 2024 Microsoft MWBE Innovation Forum. Founder Husein Sharaf was keynote speaker at the Mid-Atlantic Cybersecurity Capabilities and Careers Symposia (MA3CS) hosted by Prince George’s Community College. Celebrations included its third Washington Business Journal Best Places to Work award, and FSC’s First 2024 Small Business of the Year Award.

TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced the appointment of the Equitech Growth Commission, federal earmarked funding for the Federal Lab Leveraging Innovation to Products (FLLIP) Pilot Program, and a successful exit of portfolio company Allovue, Inc. The organization continues to invest in Maryland-based startup companies through its Social Impact Funds, evergreen Venture Funds, and Seed Funds. These Funds have most recently invested in companies like Keep Company, Astek Diagnostics, Aquatic Circle, Aloe Therapeutics, IPGen, LASARRUS, Innate Technologies, Sonogen Medical, Dockshare, and Minnowtech. Additionally, they released new episodes of TEDCO Talks featuring Secretary of Commerce, Kevin Anderson, and BDC CEO, Colin Tarbert.

Route One Apparel, based in Towson, continues to expand its offerings – especially for local sports fans – through new collaborations and wholesale partnerships. Last month, the online retailer launched the “Brightside x Route One Home Run Collection” with Brightside Boutique, which is selling out quickly, and is now preparing to unveil its new “Boh-timore Baseball” line featuring National Bohemian. In addition to online at RouteOneApparel.com, shoppers can find large displays of Route One Apparel’s sports gear at local retailers EC Pops, King of Bling and Poor Boys. Route One Apparel’s University of Maryland collection, along with other Maryland-pride products, can also now be found at Shop Made in MD in College Park.

Warehouse Cinemas, based in Frederick and developed by HighRock, recently hosted its annual Trailer Fest at all three of its Maryland locations. The event series sold out and brought over 700 participants together to celebrate upcoming releases through exclusive trailer screenings, special guest appearances, and interactive activities.

About Maryland Marketing Partnership
The Maryland Marketing Partnership, founded in statute as the Maryland Public-Private Partnership Marketing Corporation, develops branding strategy for the state, markets the state’s assets, and encourages the location and growth of new businesses in Maryland.

Media Contact

Ellina Buettner, Abel Communications for Maryland Marketing Partnership, 4104195945, ellina@abelcommunications.com, https://marylandmarketingpartnership.com/

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SOURCE Maryland Marketing Partnership

Technology

Bobby Lehew Named commonsku’s Chief AI Officer — an Industry First in Promo

Published

42 minutes ago

April 20, 2026

TORONTO, April 20, 2026 /CNW/ – commonsku, the connected workflow platform trusted by 950+ distributors driving $1.9 billion in network volume, today announced the creation of a dedicated AI + Strategy role, promoting Bobby Lehew to Chief AI Officer to lead the company’s AI initiative for customers and the platform. The move makes commonsku the first platform in the promotional products industry to invest at the leadership level in AI strategy shaped directly by distributor needs.

The new role bridges the gap between what AI can do and what commonsku’s customers need it to solve, owning the intelligence loop between customers, product, and the AI landscape. What makes the role distinct: it combines AI landscape intelligence, product strategy influence, direct customer engagement, and industry thought leadership in a single role.

A Natural Evolution

Lehew brings more than 30 years of experience in the promotional products industry to the role. Prior to joining commonsku, he was the CEO of Robyn Promotions, a company among the first wave of distributors who architected the model of technology driven e-commerce company stores in the industry, earning three consecutive Inc. 5000 rankings. Always tech-forward in his work, his industry recognition includes multiple Gold and Silver PPAI Pyramid Awards.

The shift to AI strategy is a natural next chapter for Lehew. At commonsku, he built the company’s content engine from scratch — co-hosting the skucast (350+ episodes, the #1 promotional products podcast) while leaning heavily into AI for all his work. He is editor of The AI Promo Brief, the industry’s go-to resource for AI developments in promotional products, and speaks frequently on the future of merch and the cultural shifts transforming how we sell. At PPAI Expo 2026, his AI session packed the room to capacity and was named a must-attend session by PPAI editors. The industry has been watching Lehew move deeper into AI for over a year. This role makes it official.

Investing in AI for Customers

“The industry is at an inflection point with AI, and distributors need a partner who understands their business,” said Catherine Graham, CEO of commonsku. “commonsku has always been built ‘by promo, for promo.’ Bobby has three decades of that expertise, a passion for helping our customers, and the strategic insight to shape AI tools for future growth. This role reflects our mission: making sure our AI tools solve real problems for real distributors.”

“The companies pulling ahead are the ones leading with customer intelligence – letting what they learn from their community shape what they build and advancing with the frontier of AI development. That’s what this role is designed to do. I’ll be talking with our customers at every level about AI and making sure the features we build make work smarter, drive growth, and eliminate friction.” said Lehew.

“Bobby and I have been creative partners for years, always pushing each other to see around corners for this industry,” said Mark Graham, President of commonsku. “We’ve launched multiple projects together and helped educate and raise the standard for what the future distributor can look like. This role is a natural evolution of that passion. He deeply understands the industry and the distributor’s pain points, and he sees with us an incredible opportunity with AI. We’re thrilled to build commonsku’s AI future together.”

commonsku’s AI investments are already in motion. The skubot Mockup Generator is in beta with Advanced and Enterprise customers, a new Opportunity Agent is entering beta as an AI-powered business intelligence tool, and the company’s immediate roadmap includes a Description Rewriter, Auto-Art Configuration, and a Presentation Generator with much more to come.

About commonsku

commonsku is the workflow platform of choice for the promotional products industry. Built by industry experts, it combines CRM, order management, and social collaboration tools in one cloud-based solution. Over 950 distributors and the industry’s largest suppliers rely on commonsku to power $1.9 billion in network volume. With commonsku, teams process more orders, work more efficiently, and grow their sales faster. Learn more at www.commonsku.com.

SOURCE commonsku

Technology

The Oxygen Plan Corporation Files Utility Patent on O2OS™ Pre-Diagnostic Behavioral Health Architecture — Measurement, Routing, Reimbursement, Governance; 2008 Prior Art

Published

42 minutes ago

April 20, 2026

Four-layer architecture spans measurement, routing, reimbursement, and governance. 2008 filing predates the Apple App Store and the current generation of digital behavioral health platforms.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Oxygen Plan Corporation today filed a Track One (prioritized examination) utility patent application covering the O2OS™ architecture — spanning measurement, routing, reimbursement, and governance — with foundational disclosures dating to April 22, 2008.

We built the pre-diagnostic measurement layer to make risk visible before it becomes a clinical event. Our role is architecture and calibration. Deployment, operations, and vertical execution sit with institutional partners. — Eric Lucas, Founder-Governor • The Oxygen Plan Corporation

O2OS™ establishes a structured, pre-diagnostic measurement framework that makes behavioral health risk visible, routable, and economically measurable before it becomes a clinical event.

The 2008 filing predates the launch of the Apple App Store.

The subsequent 2009 PCT publication predates the current generation of digital behavioral health platforms.

THE ARCHITECTURE

O2OS™ is a four-layer operating system for behavioral health:

Measurement — Stress Number™, a composite score across Home, Work, and Social domains (each scored 0–100), designed to produce a bounded, interoperable pre-diagnostic behavioral health signalRouting — Smart Referral Engine™, threshold-triggered and tri-hierarchical, designed to match individuals to appropriate resourcesReimbursement — CPT-aligned workflow support, intended to enable billing integrationGovernance — the Automated Governance Utility™, a license registry and access control layer designed to support neutrality and structured participation

The system operates as a closed-loop architecture in which pre-diagnostic measurement informs routing, routing aligns with reimbursement pathways, and governance enables coordinated operation at scale.

STRUCTURAL GAPS

Behavioral health systems currently operate with two unresolved structural gaps:

Penetration Gap — the majority of individuals remain unmeasured at the pre-diagnostic stageRouting Gap — measured individuals are not consistently routed to appropriate resources

O2OS™ is designed as a pre-diagnostic measurement and routing architecture that addresses both conditions within a unified system.

FEDERAL ALIGNMENT

O2OS™ is aligned with established federal and reimbursement pathways, including CMS Coverage with Evidence Development (CED), CPT 96127 and CPT 96138, Medicaid 1115 Waivers, HEDIS quality measures, and CMS Aim 1 for prevention and early detection.

CLINICAL VALIDATION

Stress Number™ has been validated working in collaboration with Mayo Clinic (Archives of Psychology, 2018, N=292). O2OS™ functions as a pre-diagnostic measurement layer designed to support routing toward existing clinical tools and workflows.

About The Oxygen Plan Corporation

The Oxygen Plan Corporation develops O2OS™ — a pre-diagnostic measurement, routing, reimbursement, and governance architecture for behavioral health. Foundational disclosures date to 2008 prior art, with peer-reviewed clinical validation conducted working in collaboration with Mayo Clinic.

Learn more at:

www.theoxygenplan.com

Statements describe system architecture, intended capabilities, and alignment pathways. Implementation and outcomes vary by partner, deployment, and regulatory context.

Media Contact

Chris Lechuga, The Oxygen Plan Corporation, 1 877 897-6520, chris@rockerpr.com, www.theoxygenplan.com

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SOURCE The Oxygen Plan Corporation

Technology

West Monroe Named in Customer Experience Strategy Consulting Services Landscape by Independent Research Firm

Published

42 minutes ago

April 20, 2026

Firm believes inclusion reflects its ability to connect customer experience, AI, and execution to measurable business outcomes

CHICAGO, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — West Monroe, a global business and technology consulting firm, announced it has been named among Notable Providers in The Customer Experience Strategy Consulting Services Landscape, Q2 2026. The report serves as a resource for executives and customer experience leaders evaluating customer experience strategy consulting providers, offering an overview of 28 providers across the market based on factors such as geographic focus, industry expertise, and business scenarios.

As organizations look to increase customer stickiness and drive growth, many are increasing investment in customer experience strategy while also exploring how AI can enable more personalized, efficient, and scalable experiences. At the same time, organizations face growing pressure to demonstrate clear business value—driving demand for partners that can embed data and AI into end-to-end customer journeys and translate those investments into measurable outcomes.

“Customer experience is evolving as AI expands what’s possible—and raises the bar for how organizations deliver it,” said Chuck Malone, Platforms & Customer Strategy Lead at West Monroe. “We believe our inclusion reflects our focus on helping clients move beyond strategy to execution, embedding data and AI into customer journeys in a way that improves engagement, strengthens retention, and delivers measurable business results.”

West Monroe brings longstanding experience helping organizations design and implement customer-centric strategies across industries including healthcare, banking, energy and utilities, insurance, and consumer & industrial products.

As part of the report, Forrester asked each provider included in the Landscape to identify the business scenarios for which clients most often engage them and highlighted extended scenarios that differentiate providers. In addition to the core business scenarios identified in the report—business assessment and analysis, customer research, and vision and strategy setting—West Monroe highlighted prioritization and roadmapping, technology transformation, and workforce enablement among the extended scenarios.

A core focus of the firm’s customer experience work is contact center and service transformation—helping organizations redesign customer journeys, modernize operations, and implement AI-enabled platforms to improve service experiences and reduce cost-to-serve.

The firm’s customer experience work has delivered measurable results for clients across industries, including:

Healthcare: Redesigned critical contact center workflows for a healthcare organization, improving first-call resolution by 68%, reducing clinic task volume by 33%, and increasing patient satisfaction.Energy & Utilities: Built a Salesforce-powered digital portal in 60 days to support solar rebate programs, reducing approval timelines by more than 60% and enabling administration of 25+ clean energy programs.Banking: Led a digital transformation for a mid-market bank, reimagining onboarding, servicing, and program management—driving more than $100M in new deposits, $550K+ in annual cost avoidance, and a 96% platform adoption rate.

Learn more about West Monroe’s customer experience services: https://www.westmonroe.com/services/customer-experience-platforms.

Forrester does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. For more information, read about Forrester’s objectivity here.

About West Monroe

West Monroe is a global business and technology consulting firm passionate about creating value for our clients. We co-create solutions that accelerate results now and prepare industries to tackle what’s next. We’re excited by the possibilities that technology creates. We work with our clients to deliver on the possible, building on their goals, generating fresh insights and creating inspiring outcomes.

We excel at the intersection of industry, strategy, people and technology—always driving rapid impact. Our all-in approach comes from our unique employee ownership structure. Our clients’ success is our success. From the beginning, our growth has come from putting people at the center. Fortune and USA Today consistently celebrate West Monroe as a top workplace, and we’re recognized as a leading consultancy by Forbes and Business Insider. Let’s find more value for your business.

Share our passion at westmonroe.com

Media Inquiries
Christina Galoozis
Director, Communications & Public Relations
cgaloozis@westmonroe.com
847-302-1762

Shira Cohen
Manager, Public Relations
scohen@westmonroe.com
443-841-6879

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SOURCE West Monroe