26-Year-Old Technology CEO Pava LaPere Found Dead in Baltimore Home; Murder investigations are ongoing
BALTIMORE — A murder investigation is underway after Pava LaPere, the 26-year-old CEO of a Baltimore technology company, was found dead in a Mount Vernon residence Monday morning, police said.
Officers responded to a residence in the 300 block of West Franklin Street around 11:30 a.m. for a 911 call. LaPere’s body was found there with signs of blunt force injuries, police said.
WJZ confirmed Tuesday that LaPere co-founded and led EcoMap, a company that says it is digitizing ecosystems with its proprietary technology.
The community remembers LaPere’s impact
EcoMap released a statement mourning the loss of LaPere.
“The circumstances surrounding Pava’s death are deeply disturbing and our deepest condolences go out to her family, friends and loved ones at this incredibly devastating time. Pava was not only the visionary force behind EcoMap, but also a deeply compassionate and committed leader. You.” Her tireless commitment to our company, to Baltimore, to amplifying the important work of ecosystems across the country, and to building a deeply inclusive culture as a leader, friend, and partner sets a benchmark for leadership, and her legacy will be sustained through the “Continue working, we’ll continue to do that.”
-EcoMap technologies
According to LaPere’s LinkedIn, she graduated from Johns Hopkins University and landed on this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Social Impact category.
WJZ received this statement from Johns Hopkins University:
“The Johns Hopkins community deeply mourns the loss of Pava LaPere, a 2019 graduate who settled in Baltimore and invested her talents in our city. Pava was well known and loved in the Baltimore entrepreneurial community and will be deeply missed. Our solemn thoughts are with her family at this time of grief.”
-Johns Hopkins University
UpSurge Baltimore, another Baltimore tech company, also released a statement.
“The entire UpSurge Baltimore team expresses deep shock and sadness at the tragic and untimely death of Pava LaPere, founder and CEO of EcoMap. Pava was a friend and an inspiration to so many of us. Our deepest and heartfelt condolences go out to Pava’s family, friends and the entire EcoMap team. We stand in solidarity with them and mourn the loss of a true visionary. The Baltimore tech community has lost a shining star, and it is difficult to express the depth of the community’s grief at Pava’s passing.”
-UpSurge Baltimore
Loyola University Maryland also released a statement on Tuesday. LaPere served on an advisory board there.
“The Loyola University Maryland community is deeply saddened by the loss of Ecomap CEO Pava LaPere. Ms. LaPere served on the newly formed Advisory Board of the Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. She was a phenomenally accomplished CEO and innovator. She was an inspiration and a friend to so many. Her leadership always placed values first and she was deeply committed to Baltimore and the promise of technology and entrepreneurship for all. Loyola University Maryland joins the communities Ms. LaPere built at Ecomap and across the city We mourn the loss of a true star. She and her family are in our prayers.
-Wendy Bolger, founding director of the Simon Center on Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Loyola University Maryland
WJZ confirmed Tuesday that LaPere co-founded and led EcoMap, a company that says it is digitizing ecosystems with its proprietary technology.
McKeever Conwell, managing partner at RareBreed Ventures and an active member of the local tech community, had known LaPere since she was a student.
He said from the start that she had drive.
“She embodied what it meant to be a dreamer. What it meant to be an entrepreneur. She is the type of woman I would want to mentor my daughter,” Conwell said.
EcoMap creates resource maps for communities.
Conwell said that summed up LaPere well: She wanted to help people.
In addition to her work at EcoMap, she was also deeply committed to helping other entrepreneurs get started – while making sure everyone had a seat at the table.
“You have this young white woman as CEO and a young black man as COO, you don’t see that every day,” Conwell said. “Your team is extremely diverse.”
But overall, Conwell said, LaPere’s death is a great loss for all of Baltimore. He said she was one of the biggest cheerleaders.
“All these tech companies, when they start making money, they want to move to other places. She was here, she believed in it, and we lost that,” he said.
The investigation into LaPere’s murder
According to investigators, a missing person call was made shortly before the discovery.
“This is pretty frightening,” Chris McNees, a tenant in the building, told WJZ on Monday. “I mean, just for this to happen anywhere in the city is obviously a bad thing, but it’s hard to imagine why it would happen in this building.”
Police have not yet released any information about a possible suspect.
If you have any information that could help investigators in this case, contact the department at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
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