About Ebony Stocks
Founder and Principal of Lumora Strategic Advisors. A CEcD-credentialed economic development executive with twenty years of senior-level experience — and the principal who leads every Lumora engagement directly.
CEcD | M.S. Real Estate Development | Economic Development Finance Professional
The Career
Why I Started Lumora
The Career That Built Lumora.
Ebony Stocks built her career at the intersection of economic development finance, public capital deployment, and small business growth. After beginning at FSC First in 2006 as a Portfolio Manager and Commercial Loan Officer — where she generated nearly $28 million in SBA-backed and contract financing activity — she joined the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation in 2013. Over the following decade, she advanced through progressively senior roles: EDI Fund Business Development Specialist, Financial Services Program Manager, Executive Vice President, and ultimately Interim President & CEO of the $4 million organization.
Her work managing Prince George's County's $50 million Economic Development Incentive Fund produced the financial track record that anchors Lumora today: $36.5 million deployed in direct financing, $1.1 billion leveraged in total private investment, 12,000 jobs created, and more than $400 million in projected commercial tax revenue. As Executive Vice President, she expanded the scope of that work across a 24-person team responsible for the County's economic competitiveness — overseeing $40 million in annual financial assistance and technical assistance programs serving more than 2,000 companies annually.
Twenty years of senior-level work in economic development gave me a clear understanding of what organizations need from their advisors — and a parallel understanding of what most consulting firms are not structured to provide. The organizations doing the most consequential work in this space are often the ones operating with the leanest internal capacity, and the engagements they bring on require more than a polished report. They require a partner who has done the work before, understands what it requires, and remains engaged through implementation.
Lumora was founded to be that partner. The firm is not structured around a large team or an elaborate sales process. It is built around one principal — twenty years of credentialed experience, applied directly to engagements where senior-level expertise determines whether a program succeeds. Every Lumora engagement is led by me personally, from the first conversation through the final result.
— Ebony Stocks, CEcD Founder & Principal, Lumora Strategic Advisors
A full bio — including complete credentials, career history, board service, and areas of expertise — is available for download below.
If You Are Considering Lumora, the Next Step Is a Conversation.
By this point, you have a clear picture of who I am and how Lumora operates. If the work in front of your organization aligns with the kind of engagements I lead, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss it directly.
Initial conversations are brief and exploratory. We will discuss your organization's situation, the scope of the work you are considering, and the timeline you are operating against. If Lumora is the right fit for the engagement, we will outline a path forward together. If Lumora is not the right fit, I will be candid about that — and where appropriate, I will recommend firms or resources better suited to your specific needs.