Power Moves: Baltimore Tracks has a changing of the guard

Power Moves is a column where we chart the comings and goings of talent across the region. Got a new hire, gig or promotion? Email us: baltimore@technical.ly.

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Baltimore Tracks’ board changes

Baltimore Tracks founding member Michael Castagnola— along with steering committee members Derek Battle, co-founder of Flave, and Michael Ogunsanya, CEO of MindStand Technologies — are stepping down from their leadership positions with the coalition of local tech companies seeking to create a more diverse tech workforce. Eden Rodriguez, head of people operations at EcoMap Technologies; Kate Ossello, lab associate at Early Charm Ventures; and Shanna Autry, director of people and culture at Apkudo, are stepping in to fill the void.

As they noted to Technical.ly, each departing committee member has their own reasons for leaving: Castagnola is working outside of the tech industry and feels being at the helm of Baltimore Tracks no longer aligns with his career. Battle is stepping down to focus more on his own company and doesn’t want to do the org a disservice by not giving 100%. Ogunsanya is stepping down from the committee but will remain active at the coalition level.

The new steering committee plans to increase one-on-one outreach with member organizations and invite more feedback on Baltimore Tracks’ direction from coalition members.

“The future, and what I expect, is if you sign up to be a part of Baltimore Tracks, you have to do the commitments,” Rodriguez told Technical.ly. The increase in one-on-one relationship-building is about meeting companies where they’re at and finding hurdles so orgs can hop over them together: “Talking to people to see how we can help them — ‘What’s going on? Is it hard to do this commitment?’ Like, what exactly is preventing [the company] from participating more.”

“We want the tech scene, tech ecosystem of Baltimore to be representative of what the city of Baltimore looks like,” Autry added. “[We’re] tackling that from whatever angle we can best do it. Whether that’s starting with youth, older people, resume sharing — there’s a bunch of ideas.”

Some key commitments are to get coalition members to remove four-year degree requirements when recruiting candidates for open job positions, as well as offer paid internships if they don’t already. The coalition’s push since 2020 on the private side has also coincided with the public sector making similar changes around degree requirements.

The steering committee will retain Baltimore Tracks cofounders Jay Vikingo (who used to identify under the name James Fillyaw) a people ops- and DEI-focused business partner at health tech company b.well Connected Health and founder of real estate company FILLYAW; and Sherrod Davis, cofounder of EcoMap Technologies.

Facet Wealth continues to grow with new senior and executive employees

Fast-growing Baltimore fintech company Facet Wealth added four new hires to its highest ranks. The new employees include Head of Client Experience Mayra Cardoso, the firm’s new Vice President of Growth and Client Experience Analytics Nick Betit, Senior Director of Growth Marketing Jimmy Ellis and Director of Acquisition Marketing Sung Lee.

The latest round of hires were announced following the company’s successful $100 million Series C at the top of the year. Facet Wealth continues to build out its resources to provide remote advice from a certified financial planner. COO Shruti Joshi said that these latest employees are crucial to its goals of reaching people underserved by her industry.

“There are more than 40 million American households who are not being reached by the financial services industry,” Joshi said in a statement. “These incredible new team members play a key role in our ability to provide invaluable and impartial financial advice that helps more Americans thrive in every facet of their lives.”

Donte Kirby is a 2020-2022 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.