Jerry Godwin is a business development manager at the Department of Economic Development for Montgomery County Government.

Godwin-originally from Honduras-has an extensive business and economic development background. During the dot-com boom of the 1990s, he started a Spanish language internet portal, raised venture capital funds and sold the company two years later in a successful transaction. As Director for the Latino Economic Development Corporation in Washington, DC, Godwin implemented a high successful small business micro-finance program. He is also an officer and helicopter pilot in the Maryland Army National Guard and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom for which he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and a Combat Action Badge.

In June 2004, Godwin was selected as a “Joven Lider Hispano/Young Hispanic Leader” by the government of Spain as well as the U.S.-Spain Council and was invited to visit governmental, business, cultural and academic institutions. The program was funded by La Fundacion Carolina which is Spain’s equivalent to the U.S. Fullbright Scholarships. In April 2007, Godwin was recognized with a National Achievement Award by the U.S. National Association of Counties for the success and excellence of the Business Innovation Centers he has helped to develop in Montgomery County.

Godwin received his undergraduate degree in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and his MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park and Shanghai, China campuses.