CSM Appoints Lesley Quattlebaum to Lead Velocity Center

CSM Appoints Lesley Quattlebaum to Lead Velocity Center

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) announces the appointment of Lesley Quattlebaum, of La Plata, to director of the CSM Velocity Center in Indian Head. In her role, Quattlebaum will guide the Velocity Center as it continues to be a catalyst for scientific and innovative workforce development in collaboration with the Town of Indian Head, the U.S. Navy and the community.

Quattlebaum brings with her nearly 20 years of project and relationship management in a variety of industries. She joined the CSM team in 2016 holding positions of project manager in business development and grants specialist coordinator, where she was instrumental in helping to secure $26 million dollars in grant money to support student success. Most recently, Quattlebaum served as the interim director of the Velocity Center.

“Lesley has proven over and over again that she is a strong, result-driven project manager with solid successes in building and leading teams to implement critical projects and programs,” said Associate Vice President of Continuing Education and Workforce Development Ellen Flowers-Fields. “We are all very excited that Lesley is taking the lead at the Velocity Center and can’t wait to follow her as she takes the center, our business partners, our communities and our students – to the next level of ingenuity.”

The Velocity Center is approximately 13,000 square feet located outside of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD). The Navy utilizes the Velocity Center for conferences, meetings, and showcases, and to hold a multitude of professional development activities and events. Navy scientists and industry leaders can interact with students in tech transfer courses and have a place to tinker and conduct unclassified research. The community can take advantage of the Makerspace in the Velocity Center as well as workforce and professional development courses such as Computer Aided Design, Cyber Security, Drones/Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Government Procurement, Social Entrepreneurship, and Tech Transfer Entrepreneurship. The center is also home to a Makerspace – equipped with a variety of maker equipment including 3D printers, laser cutters, subtractive machines, CAD modeling, robotics, prototyping, and more.

“Cutting-edge technology and innovative potential are right here at our fingertips at the Velocity Center and I am very excited to further immerse CSM’s role in guiding the ingenuity that surrounds us in Southern Maryland,” said Quattlebaum. “We’re working on exciting upcoming programming for our communities and I really believe what we’re going to be doing at the Velocity Center is going to change Indian Head and the entire Charles County community for the better.”

Included in the upcoming programming is the VelocityX: Community Innovation Hackathon, scheduled for May 19-20 at the center. This event gives scientists, inventors, and STEM students an opportunity to solve real-world problems through innovation and collaboration while also earning a chance to win $12,000 in prizes. For more information visit https://csm.brightidea.com/VelocityX.

Next month, tune into Live @ the Velocity Center to hear a simulcast series highlighting innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship in the Southern Maryland region.  Episode 5 – ‘What is a Makerspace?’ features a dynamic panel of experts offering insights into the role of Makerspaces as learning spaces to support academia, workforce development and economic growth. For more information about this June 15, 2022 simulcast beginning at 7 p.m., visit https://www.csmd.edu/about/locations/velocity-center/programs-and-events.html.

Quattlebaum holds a Project Management Professional Certification from George Mason University, a bachelor’s degree in Personnel and Labor Relations from the University of Maryland, and a master’s degree in Human Resource Development from Bowie State University.