Shorties Roundup: Revolution cofounder Ron Klain was named Biden’s future chief of staff

On Wednesday, President-elect Joe Biden appointed Revolution cofounder Ron Klain to White House chief of staff.

Founded in 2005, Revolution is an investment firm cofounded by prominent investor Steve Case. This bit of hiring news wasn’t included in our reporting this week, but it’s important to note since Klain, who is a lawyer by training, served as Revolution’s executive vice president and general counsel until this month. Klain has previously worked with the future president when he served as Biden’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2011 while Biden was vice president. He’s also the former chief of staff of Al Gore when he served as vice president. Klain has worked in various other governmental roles, including as the White House Ebola Response coordinator in late 2014 and early 2015.

“We applaud Ron’s decision to return again to public service, and wish him all the best as he takes on this task,” Case said in an Instagram post congratulating Klain. “We are of course sorry to lose him, but we’re more optimistic about getting through the pandemic and building back better knowing Ron will bring his many talents to bear to support our new President and serve the nation.”

This announcement comes as Biden continues his push forward to presidency, despite President Donald Trump refusing to concede the race. Earlier this week, the Biden-Harris transition team announced members and plans for its COVID-19 Advisory Board. This leaders will be in charge with helping the president-elect make plans for a federal response to the coronavirus pandemic when he assumes his new role.

Besides the continued election news, here are the shorties from the week:

Thursday, Nov. 12

• Technical.ly’s 12th annual Klein News Innovation Camp is happening this Saturday, Nov. 14. This event will have a full lineup of expert speakers discussing the future of journalism.
• The National Museum of the American Indian is hosting its annual Native Cinema Showcase virtually Nov. 18 to 27. Catch a variety of new Native films, old classics and conversations with filmmakers.
• Applications are open for Pax Momentum’s spring 2021 accelerator. Pax Momentum is a customer acquisition accelerator open to companies of all industries. Participation in the eight-week program includes a $50,000 investment. You can request an application here. The deadline to apply is Dec. 1.

Wednesday, Nov. 11

• Maryland’s COVID-19 exposure notification system is now live. With MD COVID Alert, residents can now see if they may have come in contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. Systems like this are already live in D.C. and Virginia.
• Black Girl Ventures won second place and $125,000 as part of Goldman Sachs Gives initiative, which lets Goldman Sachs’ current and retired senior employees pitch and recommend grants for underserved startups to the company’s CEO. BGV was founded in 2016 by Shelly Bell as an event series that’s part pitch competition and part crowdfunding campaign for Black and brown women entrepreneurs.
• In the midst of the pandemic, Framebridge has expanded with three new store fronts this year, one in Brooklyn and two in Atlanta. The Georgetown-based company that creates custom frames based on digital pictures is also still managing its stores in D.C. and Bethesda, Maryland.

Tuesday, Nov. 10

• The Flatiron School is partnering with Arlington, Virginia-based Excella again to offer a full-tuition scholarship for the third year in a row. This opportunity is for women or underrepresented individuals who want to study software engineering or data science at Flatiron’s D.C. campus. Applications close for the Excella Technology Scholarship on Friday, Nov. 20.
• Tysons, Virginia-based Omnispace has selected space rideshare provider Exolaunch to deliver two of its satellites into orbit in 2022. This is the next step in the company’s plan to build a global hybrid network linking satellites to mobile networks. This new initiative comes after Omnispace partnered with France-based Thales Alenia Space in April to build initial components for its Internet of Things (IoT) satellite infrastructure.
• Women in Technology named the winners of its 21st Annual Leadership Awards. The women tech leaders were honored at a virtual gala. Check out the eight women working in the D.C. region who made the list here.