Maryland Women’s Business Center Welcomes Karen Sippel as New Managing Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2025
 
Media Contact:
Amanda Bosland, Marketing & Communications Director
Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI)
amanda@rockvilleredi.org
 

 
Rockville, Md., - The Maryland Women’s Business Center (MWBC), a program of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI), is pleased to announce the appointment of Karen Sippel as its new Managing Director effective February 4, 2025. With a career spanning entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership, and strategic communications, Sippel brings a wealth of experience to MWBC as it continues to empower entrepreneurs across Maryland.
 
“We are thrilled to welcome Karen to MWBC,” said Cynthia Rivarde, CEO of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. “Her experience designing and leading training program for women entrepreneurs, combined with her background in marketing, nonprofit management, and fundraising, makes her a tremendous asset to our organization and the businesses we serve.”
 
Sippel’s career is rooted in supporting small businesses, particularly women-owned enterprises. As co-founder and managing director of the African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative (AWEC), she led a capacity-building program that empowered 200 business owners annually across 52 African countries to level-up their skills, increase revenue, and hire more employees. She has also founded and operated multiple businesses, including a professional services firm and a wholesale bakery, the latter of which she opened after earning a pastry arts certificate from a Washington, D.C.-area culinary school.
 
In addition to her work in entrepreneurship, Sippel has held senior leadership roles in communications, marketing, and fundraising at tech startups, nonprofits, and global public affairs firms. She has served as a senior executive at The Center for Global Enterprise, Personal (a startup focused on online privacy that was later acquired by Digi.Me), and major public relations and marketing agencies such as Porter Novelli, Merritt Group, and Burson-Marsteller.
 
With a deep passion for entrepreneurship, Sippel is eager to lead MWBC into its next chapter. “Coming from a multi-generational family of business owners, I have a deep affinity for those who take the leap to start and grow their own businesses,” said Sippel. “I understand the challenges entrepreneurs face, and I’m honored to step into this role at MWBC to continue supporting small businesses across Maryland.”
Sippel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Virginia. She also serves as a mentor to women entrepreneurs, providing guidance through AWEC’s year-long capacity-building program.
   
About Maryland Women’s Business Center
Maryland Women's Business Center (MWBC) is a signature program of Rockville Economic Development, Inc. MWBC helps entrepreneurs and small businesses owners, especially from underrepresented populations, across Maryland’s Capital Region start, sustain, and grow their companies. Through workshops, individual counseling, facilitated peer group support, special resources, and access to capital, MWBC annually helps over 1,500 entrepreneurs gain the skills, connections, and confidence necessary to navigate entrepreneurship.
Learn more at marylandwbc.org.