Power Moves: Byte Back CEO Elizabeth Lindsey will depart for Urban Alliance

Power Moves is a column where we chart the comings and goings of talent across the region. Got a new hire, new gig or promotion? Tell us: baltimore@technical.ly.

A CEO transition is underway at Byte Back, the tech training nonprofit that expanded its digital inclusion work to Baltimore in 2019.

After five-and-a-half years as CEO, Elizabeth Lindsey will leave the D.C.-based org on April 2 to lead the national youth development nonprofit Urban Alliance. A search is currently underway for a new CEO, led by the Byte Back board of directors alongside D.C.-based search firm NonprofitHR.

“I have absolutely loved every second of the past five years of Byte Back,” told our sister site Technical.ly DC in an exit interview this week, adding that the move is “really about timing and it’s really about the fact that Urban Alliance is such a phenomenal organization, and I have wanted to run a larger organization for a while. So, this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

Byte Back offers courses to adult learners, from computer foundations to CompTIA certifications. During Lindsey’s tenure, over 250 people have graduated from its programs, and make an average of $20,000 more than before their training, the org said.

Lindsey has also presided over expansion. In 2018, Byte Back won a TD Ready Challenge grant that funded its expansion to Baltimore. Since then, it has hired Chrissie Powell as the executive director locally, partnered with organizations like Digital Harbor Foundation and Open Works to offer classes, and taken a leadership role in the 50-organization Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition that formed during the pandemic.

“Since COVID hit, people now are recognizing that the digital divide is real, that the digital divide is absolutely something that we absolutely need to address if we care about equality,” Lindsey told Technical.ly.

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College Park-based quantum computing company IonQ made a big announcement this week that it planned to go public via merger with blank check company dMY Technology Group III. Amid the talk of the $2 billion valuation, we almost overlooked a few key executive-level hires and board seats that the company announced as well. But luckily, Power Moves is here on Friday to pick up the slack.

Thomas Kramer is joining the company as chief financial officer, focusing on commercializing the company’s infrastructure. He previously invested in tech companies while serving as managing director of Remarque Advisory, and guided D.C.-based energy software company Opower through its 2014 IPO. Kramer is also a cofounder of McLean, Virginia-based event management technology company Cvent, where he served as CFO through 2011.

Salle Yoo joined the company as chief legal officer and corporate secretary, a role in which she will manage legal and regulatory functions as it grows. Yoo previously served in those roles at Uber.

The company also announced three board additions:

• Craig Barratt, who previously held positions at Intel, Google, Barefoot Networks and Atheros, will join as an independent board member.
• Harry You, dMY’s chairman, will join the company’s board when the merger closes. He has held executive and board positions at Accenture, Oracle and EMC Corporation.
• Niccolo de Masi, the CEO of dMY, will also join the company’s board on closing of the merger.

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Mike Leffer joined Baltimore-based seed stage investment firm Early Light Ventures this month as principal.

Early Light focuses on B2B companies, typically investing at seed stage. It’s among a group of Baltimore-based venture firms making investments in early-stage startups.

Mike Leffer. (Courtesy photo)

The firm was well-known to Leffer: He and managing partner Scott Garber previously worked at the regional angel investor syndicate Baltimore Angels, where Garber was head of operations and Leffer was an investment analyst.

As principal, Leffer will work on the sourcing, relationship-building and due diligence with companies that characterizes the dealflow process, while also taking on initiatives to help expand the firm.

Leffer previously served as principal at Baltimore-based venture firm Squadra, where he worked for two years, adding that “it was really an awesome experience working with [Squadra’s Managing Partner Guy Filippelli]to build Squadra from the ground up.” Leffer said the firms take a differing approach: Squadra always leads funding rounds, whereas Early Light either leads or serves as a follow-on investor.

“I’m excited to co-invest with other venture funds and angel investors, and to back the best SaaS founders locally and across the U.S.,” he said.

Along with fellow VC Mike Ravenscroft, Leffer is also the co-host of the founder-focused podcast Extreme Uncertainty.

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The University System of Maryland announced the winners of its annual faculty awards this week, and we spotted honors in the category of excellence in public service for a pair of familiar faces around the local community and our coverage.

Dr. Seema Iyer, the associate director of University of Baltimore‘s Jacob France Institute, was recognized for creating the Real Estate Fellows Program, which provides UB students and alumni with access to the development process, and offers a chance to pitch to investors. Iyer has also been a local leader in open data, as she directs the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, producer of the annual Vital Signs report.

Dr. Natalie Scala, an associate professor of business analytics and technology management at Towson University, was honored for her work in election security, which defines threats as coming from cyber, physical and insider sources. She shared her expertise with us in the run-up to the 2020 election results.