Sharon R Pinder

Sharon R. Pinder is the President and Chief Executive Officer at the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC), a non-profit organization with a compelling mission: bridging corporations and government agencies with highly competitive Minority Business Enterprises. Pinder also spearheads the Virginia MBDA Business Center on behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency Center (MBDA). Over the last seven years, her exceptional leadership has garnered over $11 million in grant awards, enabling CRMSDC to operate multiple MBDA business centers and execute pivotal program initiatives.

Under Pinder’s guidance, CRMSDC diligently represents the interests of over 700 businesses in the Maryland/DC and Northern Virginia region, boasting a national outreach of 15,000 enterprises. These local companies collectively generate an impressive $6.7 billion in annual revenue, have generated over 57,000 jobs, and serve as vital suppliers to numerous top-tier corporations and public entities.

In the last five years, CRMSDC has consistently been acknowledged by the Washington Business Journal as one of the Top 25 Largest Business Advocacy Groups in the Greater Washington, DC region. In 2023, CRMSDC achieved a remarkable rank of #7, a testament to Pinder's transformative leadership.

Notably, Sharon R. Pinder made history as the first appointed Cabinet Secretary of the Governor's Office of Minority Affairs in Maryland. Her visionary approach catalyzed Maryland's minority and small business reform movement, resulting in a billion-dollar increase in payments awarded to women and minority-owned businesses during her initial three-year tenure. She also played a pivotal role in the creation of Maryland's pioneering Small Business Reserve Program, the first state-level set-aside initiative for small businesses—a model subsequently adopted by other states.

Pinder holds an M.S. in Technology Management from the University of Maryland University College (now UMGC), where she was honored as the 2004 Alumna of the Year. Furthermore, in recognition of her profound contributions, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) established the Sharon R. Pinder Entrepreneurial Scholarship in her honor in 2014.