RealLIST Engineers 2023: Meet 15 tech innovators, educators and advocates fueling Baltimore

“Another one,” as DJ Khaled would say in his producer tag, filled with his usual confidence and enthusiastic, motivational tone.

Technical.ly is back with a curated list of influential technologists building in Baltimore. Just as it was for the Technical.ly team in the inaugural year of the RealLIST Engineers series, “real” continues to mean serious, committed and influential.

The individuals on our 2023 version list embody all of the above, playing various roles in the Baltimore tech ecosystem from pioneering technology solutions to fostering diversity and inclusion. These technologists contribute to the growth and development of technology, education and community engagement in the city, making a positive impact on Baltimore’s future.

Without further ado, or any other DJ Khaled quotes, here’s another RealLIST Engineers list comprised of good folks nominated by you all in the community, as well as informed by Technical.ly’s coverage, research, outreach and newsletters. Lead Baltimore reporter Alanah Nichole Davis and market editor Sameer Rao finalized this year’s list from all these sources.

And hey, if you don’t see your favorite technologist on this roster, just know that our public nominations form for our full RealLIST series — including Engineers, Connectors and Startups — is open year-round.

So, Baltimore, meet your 2023 RealLIST Engineers.

Jason Harris, founder and facilitator, The BlkRobot Project

Jason Harris. (Courtesy Jason Harris)

An alumnus of Morehouse College in Georgia, Harris is a Baltimore-based, self-proclaimed futurist, educator and cultural activist. He founded The BlkRobot Project, which has led to the creation of youth-serving programs such as SoulBot Saturday Design Squad classes this Fall. In these classes, he guides elementary-aged youth through coding and robotics courses, teaches artificial intelligence to middle schoolers, and even runs a Rocket Launch mini-space camp.

Learn more or sign up for SoulBot Saturdays

Supported by the Grit Fund in 2019, the BlkRobot Project is an educational art initiative aimed at introducing technological learning to predominantly Black neighborhoods in Baltimore like Park Heights. Harris has dedicated 20 years to working as an IT professional, with the last 18 focused on building his practice as an artist at the intersection of technology in Baltimore City. Throughout his IT career, he worked as both a full-time employee and contractor for IT firms like Apex Systems and Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Center. For them, he undertook a variety of tasks, including implementing and supporting classroom and media center technology in Baltimore schools.

Jeremy Vickery, senior software engineer, research and development, T. Rowe Price

Jeremy Vickery. (Courtesy Jeremy Vickery)

Backed by his computer science education, Vickery makes the annual RealLIST for his work in implementing large language models (LLMs) into T. Rowe Price’s Amazon Web Services enterprise systems. According to his nominator, Vickery’s technical evaluation and prototyping for LLMs — including advanced transformer models like GPT-3, Claude, Google’s LaMDA and open-source models —has led his team to some integral benchmarks with the aforementioned technologies.

Vickery’s contributions were instrumental in guiding his team to choose the perfect customized LLM architecture, as well as in motivating engineering efforts to align with the company’s requirements. The nominator described his expertise and leadership as crucial in leveraging LLMs to boost productivity and improve decision-making throughout the organization.

Valentine Okundaye, data engineer, EcoMap Technologies

Okundaye’s unconventional coding background has made him a dynamic addition to the 2022 RealLIST Startup’s team. Described by his nominator as having a strong drive to learn and natural leadership abilities, he took the initiative to develop his own application and acquire the necessary skills. During his journey, he discovered the local engineer meetup, Code and Coffee, and quickly recognized the need for more structure in its Lightning Talks. He volunteered his time to improve them. Okundaye consistently brings fresh perspectives to problem-solving at EcoMap and generously shares his knowledge with colleagues both inside and outside his department. Notably, Okundaye is an alum of the Community College of Baltimore County.

Mike Ridge, CEO, Clarity Cyber

Mike Ridge. (Courtesy Mike Ridge)

Ridge, whose company is based in Linthicum, brings over two decades of experience in the intelligence community to his role as a security engineer supporting the Department of Defense. He joins other founders on this year’s list as the leader of a small defense contracting firm, where he contributes to innovation in the federal government as a National Security Agency-recognized trusted integrator.

Ridge’s commitment to the next generation of technologists is evident through his long-term partnership with the Baltimore Robotics Center. He’s on a small team of five people where his nominator says he created internships and youth apprenticeships, a notable achievement for fostering talent in the field.

Sameer Ahirrao, CEO and founder, Ardent Privacy

Sameer Ahirrao. (Courtesy Sameer Ahirrao)

Having spent nearly two decades in the Baltimore region, Ahirrao is a familiar face at local events, including the 100th gathering of Equitech Tuesdays. He is deeply involved in the privacy technology industry, with data security being one of his areas of expertise.

During earlier parts of his career, he held a leadership role in security engineering at Lockheed Martin and collaborated with Symantec and Deloitte as a cybersecurity subject matter expert. Ahirrao’s professional background is in electronics and telecom engineering, and he’s the founder of what he proudly claims is the first privacy engineering company, Ardent Privacy — which secured its patent for data minimization in 2022. Ardent’s HQ is over at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s bwtech@UMBC research park.

Ahirrao is a supporter of building an inclusive workforce and has facilitated over 25 internships within the University of Maryland ecosystem. These internships focus on training students in the emerging fields of privacy technology and law. He also serves on Howard County’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Commission.

Emily Brown, senior engineer, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)

Brown’s nominator said she is highly involved with the Center for Women in Technology at UMBC. Brown, a computer science alum of the aforementioned R1 university, has aligned her current work with her previous experience. During her time as a research assistant, she collaborated with a team on the development of a curriculum for a new AP CS course. This initiative was in partnership with the CS Matters In Maryland team, which is a coalition consisting of leaders passionate about advancing CS education by pooling their collective knowledge and expertise.

With a full-time role at the JHU APL, she still finds time to volunteer and share expertise with students to help them to possibly find a place in a technical field. She also has a role with APL’s employee resource groups.

Sridevi Sarma, professor, biomedical engineering and vice dean for graduate education, JHU Whiting School of Engineering; associate director, Institute for Computational Medicine; founder, NeuroTech Harbor and EpiScalp

Sarma, a faculty member at JHU, is an accomplished addition to this year’s RealLIST Engineers list. She serves as a professor of biomedical engineering and vice dean for graduate education, with her nominator saying she actively promotes diversity in the university’s graduate program.

Sarma’s entrepreneurial ventures include NeuroTech Harbor, a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded initiative supporting neuro-focused medical device startups; and EpiScalp, a company addressing epilepsy misdiagnoses with Food and Drug Administration approvals and funding. She recently received the NIH Investigator Award, solidifying her status as a notable figure in engineering and healthcare innovation.

Cornelius Hairston, senior software developer, Use All Five

Cornelius Hairston. (Courtesy Cornelius Hairston)

Any technologist behind a meetup as aptly named as the Baltimore Tech Meetup, or any mentor for seed-stage investment programs like Techstars, merits a spot on this list — like Hairston does.

Hairston is a self-described creative technologist whose nominator said works remotely at Los Angeles-based company tech and design company Use All Five as a software engineer. He’s returned to Baltimore and connected and supported hundreds of guests through the meetup.

As if making the 2023 RealLIST Engineers roster wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, he’ll also be speaking with attendees at his meetup’s BaltiVirtual Happy Hour on Oct. 25. BaltiVirtual is an XR development studio which Hairston describes on LinkedIn in Hairston’s LinkedIn post is described as “a full-service augmented and virtual reality studio aiming to inspire wonder and creativity with immersive experiences.”

Meet up with Hairston and other DMV tech workers

Micaela Cunha, software engineer, MASTERMND and mentor, Digital Harbor Foundation

Not long ago, Cuha’s mainstay, MASTERMND, partnered with Betamore to establish a software engineering training program. Her nomination highlights her background: a doctorate in medical physics and a master’s in biomedical engineering, though she transitioned to software in 2022.

Cunha is also a host of Code and Coffee, where she has been instrumental in organizing collaborative six-hour events at the Digital Harbor Foundation. At the foundation, she serves as a technical coach, teaching Python to Baltimore youth. Cunha’s nominator lauds her as an inspiration for career changers seeking a coding community in Baltimore.

“Her contributions to building and organizing Baltimore Code & Coffee reflect core community values of Trust, Safety, and Belonging,” the nominator wrote —qualities that are highly valued on this year’s list.

Rafael Casas, CEO and founder, SpringWEAR

Rafael Casas. (Courtesy Rafael Casas)

Baltimore is known for being a city of neighborhoods, and Casas exemplifies the spirit of community engagement as a block captain in Greenmount West. This commitment to his local area, combined with his pioneering stroke rehabilitation-related work at SpringWEAR, makes him a standout candidate for this list.

SpringWEAR is at the forefront of developing affordable, customizable and wearable devices that empower stroke survivors in their home-based rehabilitation and daily activities.

Casas holds degrees in both biomedical and mechanical engineering. He draws from rich research experience at the Center for Applied Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Research, as well as time spent as an Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Fellow at the NIH. His nomination recognizes him as a quintessential engineer driven by a genuine commitment to improving the lives of stroke patients beyond research papers and prototypes. His connection to the cause, as someone who went through physical rehab himself, further fuels his dedication.

Marques Jackson, test engineer, Fearless

Marques Jackson. (Courtesy Fearless)

At Fearless, Jackson hosts the weekly LinkedIn Live series, “Ya Herd,”’ as part of the company’s commitment to nurturing talent and demystifying the tech industry. Through “Ya Herd,” he and a colleague interview Fearless team members, shedding light on their careers and government tech roles while offering valuable advice to industry enthusiasts. This engaging series made its debut at the CIAA Tech House in February.

Jackson’s nominator said he embodies Fearless’ core value that “People Matter.” He generously shares his knowledge, exemplifying how collective progress occurs when we uplift others. We know a lil’ something about that at Technical.ly, which makes Jackson and his work with Fearless (including on the Searchable Museum project for the National Museum of African American History and Culture) a great addition to the list.

Courtney Cavin, product engineer, Astek Diagnostics

Courtney Cavin. (Courtesy Courtney Cavin)

Cavin, a project engineer at this 2022 RealLIST Startup (which was also recently featured in Technical.ly’s Money Moves series), plays a part in the company’s mission to transition its devices from blood to urine testing for bacterial infections.

Courtney is a UMBC alum and recognized, according to her nominator, as a team member who surpasses project goals and drives transformative change within the organization. Congratulations are in order to yet another woman in tech.

Kirill Vorobyev, software engineer, formerly WBX Commerce

Kirill Vorobyev. (Courtesy Kirill Vorobyev)

Until recent department-wide layoffs, Vorobyev was employed at WBX, formerly known as Whitebox, located in Curtis Bay. His nominator had high praise, stating, “Kirill is the kind of software engineer every company dreams of having.” They went on to emphasize his exceptional ability not only to grasp the core problem at hand but also to envision a broader perspective, leading to solutions that consistently exceed expectations.

In its rebrand, WBX has been actively developing a new e-commerce tool, WBX Glass, tailored for brands advertising on the Amazon DSP. Vorobyev has also been engaged in projects involving visualization solutions for NASA, assisting in learning and discovery by modeling imagery and telemetry. Beyond his professional endeavors, Kirill is a passionate 3-D printing enthusiast who readily shares insights and techniques with others. He’s currently looking for work.

P.S. If you’re into 3-D printing yourself, perchance consider a tour of Open Works, where you might find a class.

Jewell Brey, head of research and development, Vectech

Jewell Brey. (Courtesy Jewell Brey)

In an industry where intersectional inclusivity can be a challenge, Brey stands out on this list for this writer. They are at the helm of a multidisciplinary engineering team, driving innovative projects for this public benefit corporation. Vectech focuses on crafting solutions that bolster pest control organizations as part of its mission to combat vector-borne diseases, mitigate agricultural losses and alleviate economic impacts caused by pests. The company’s inclusion in the Techstars Equitech Accelerator’s class of 2023 further underscores its significance in the tech ecosystem — and Brey’s role in it.

Brey’s nominator highlighted their exceptional proficiency in rapid prototyping. They excel in transforming conceptual ideas into tangible prototypes through 3D printing, laser cutting and other fabrication techniques. The nominator also noted Brey’s impact on Vectech’s growth, with the team doubling in size since their arrival. Brey currently spearheads strategic partnership efforts with a local manufacturer in Baltimore, optimizing and overseeing the production of Vectech’s innovative products. Notably, Brey also serves as a principal investigator or co-investigator on federally-funded grant projects, exemplifying their dedication and meticulous attention to detail.

Katrina Coleman, consultant, self-employed

Katrina Coleman. (Courtesy Katrina Coleman)

Hailing from Baltimore County, Katrina Coleman vividly recalls her elementary school days when aspiring young women were subjected to ridicule for their ambitions, including aspirations to become president.

“I remember a moment in elementary school when a girl named Amanda boldly declared that girls can do anything, even become president,” Coleman told Technical.ly in her self-nomination. “Regrettably, I, too, laughed along with the boys who surrounded her. That memory has stayed with me: the courage of Amanda and my own disbelief. Since that day in elementary school, I’ve found myself in numerous situations, much like Amanda. However, this time, I stood firmly by Amanda’s side, regardless of the room I entered.”

Today, as a consultant, Coleman dedicates herself to supporting women in the tech industry, be they entrepreneurs or those in corporate roles. With over 19 years of experience in the IT sector, she’s well aware of the challenges that Black women often face.

“Throughout my career, I’ve only had the opportunity to work alongside six women of color, including myself,” she said. “This number also represents just one peer from my entire graduating class when we earned our degrees in IT. Despite the seemingly narrow path, we must allow ourselves to ignite our inherent talents and shine, even in the face of laughter.”

She’s seen far too many women set aside their dreams due to what she interprets as a lack of resources and belief in themselves. By making it onto the RealLIST Engineers list, Coleman hopes to demonstrate that not only is it possible to thrive as an “anomaly” in a space but also to inspire other Black women to break through barriers and extend invitations to others along the way.