Experience benefits Bogage in new Committee for Montgomery post

Friday, Sept. 2, 2005

Ellen Coren Bogage, who has long been active in business and community affairs in Montgomery County, may be a natural for her new post: chairwoman of the Committee for Montgomery, a coalition of leaders from not just the county’s business community, but from labor, education, civic and community organizations, too.

The committee lobbies state legislators and other officials on issues such as improving the workforce and business community, education, transportation, and health and human services.

‘‘We don’t take a public position on an issue unless 85 percent of board members agree,” said Bogage, 50, who previously was the group’s vice chairwoman and headed its annual legislative breakfast. ‘‘With such a diverse group, you have to really work through the issues to get that level of agreement.”

Last year, the committee priorities included state funding for the Rockville Town Center and creating more business and technology incubators. The organization will soon work on its top issues for next year’s legislative session, Bogage said.

Committee members include companies such as Comcast Corp., Adventist HealthCare and Human Genome Sciences; labor unions; and organizations such as the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, League of Women Voters of Montgomery County and NAACP.

Bogage has an effective leadership style and is great to work with, said Gwen Harris-Gale, vice chairwoman of the Committee for Montgomery and advisor to the Montgomery County NAACP Parents’ Council.

‘‘She is a visionary. She has a lot of great ideas,” Harris-Gale said. ‘‘She is very organized and dedicated to the goals of the Committee for Montgomery.”

While Bogage has lived in Montgomery County, Md., for some 25 years, she actually grew up in another Montgomery County — in Pennsylvania. She attended the University of Maryland, College Park, graduating in 1976 with a bachelor’s in communications, minoring in business. She liked her career prospects in Maryland so much she stayed.

‘‘This is where the opportunities were for me,” Bogage said.

Washington Gas Light Co. provided opportunities for more than a decade, with her positions there including company lobbyist. When Bogage became executive director of the Montgomery County chamber in 1990, she said she had some work to do to get political leaders and others to better appreciate the contributions of the business community.

‘‘Now there is a greater understanding of the importance of the business community,” she said.

Before becoming director of government and community affairs for Comcast, Bogage took some time off to raise her twin sons until they entered first grade, although she still worked part-time. Earlier this year, she formed her own government and public affairs consulting business, with Comcast among her clients.

‘‘I had always been an employee of an organization or company, and I wanted to strike out on my own,” Bogage said.

Among her other varied positions was director of government relations for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, which became a new cabinet department when she worked there. She also founded the Maryland Government Relations Association, as well as being a former president of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Chambers of Commerce, a board member of the Olney Theatre Center and vice president of legislative affairs for the Montgomery County chamber.

Her honors include being named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women in 2003 by the Daily Record. Earlier this year she received the Chairman’s Award from the Montgomery County chamber.

Bogage lives in Olney with her husband, Barry, and two sons. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, playing tennis and going out dancing with her husband.