Baltimore Power Moves: Meet Impact Hub’s new coleaders

An update on Impact Hub Baltimore (IHB) and its coleadership shift

Impact Hub Baltimore’s Communications and Engagement Manager My-Azia Johnson announced via email the culmination of the search for IHB’s coleaders. Tywanna Taylor will take on the role of operations director while Mariya Strauss will assume the position of strategy director.

According to the email, the duo commenced their roles on Sept. 18. They join IHB cofounder Michelle Geiss, who has also simultaneously become IHB’s first network director, in this coleadership model. To support this transition, IHB has enlisted the assistance of consultants who crafted a 120-day orientation program. The team has also engaged with a leadership strategy consultant, Jenna Staufer, to provide further insights.

“The trio’s initial priorities have revolved around understanding the intricacies of IHB’s mission and Baltimore’s social impact landscape,” Johnson said. “Additionally, they are gearing up for a director’s strategy retreat where they will begin outlining the specifics of how the shared-leadership model will operate.”

Johnson said folks can connect with IHB’s new team at several upcoming community events. They include an Oct. 26 breakfast event with the Results Network and a Nov. 1 breakout session during the Baltimore Together summit.

Dani Faulkner takes on Parity’s mission

Bree Jones, CEO and founder of Parity, recently announced on LinkedIn the hire of Dani Faulkner as the housing equity organization’s first director of development. Faulkner is stepping down from her position at Baltimore Corp, where she spearheaded fundraising initiatives since 2019.

Faulkner will be speaking about her fundraising work at a pair of events this week: a Maryland Philanthropy Network virtual convening on Wednesday, which covers the principles of community-centric fundraising, and the Maryland Nonprofit Association’s annual conference on Friday. Check out Faulkner’s LinkedIn post about those events for more information.

Full-time help and some funds for ReBokeh

ReBokeh, one of Technical.ly’s 2023 RealLIST Startups, recently announced the addition of Evan Bonfield as its first head of business development. Bonfield comes to the company, which produces assistive technology for those with vision impairment, after graduating from Tulane University in 2022 and becoming a Venture for America fellow. Bonfield is the company’s first employee besides founder Rebecca Rosenberg.

The announcement came to Technical.ly via an email that also announced the company’s receipt of a $15,000 University System of Maryland Launch Fund Grant for early-stage entrepreneurs.

Maryland’s footprint in AWS’ Govtech accelerator

Two Maryland startups, R3 Score Technologies of Baltimore and Wi-Fiber of Bethesda, have secured spots in Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) inaugural GovTech accelerator cohort. R3 Score aims to redefine criminal background checks through a “socially responsible risk index,” according to AWS’ September announcement, while Wi-Fiber provides SMART Network infrastructure. Both companies will receive resources and guidance from AWS starting this month, and the program culminates in a demo day at the State of GovTech conference on Nov. 14.

Open Works has a new batch of maker fellows

Open Works (OW) has unveiled its latest cohort of maker fellows for the 2023-2024 term. These individuals will offer support and guidance within the organization’s woodshop. Folks can join OW in welcoming these new fellows during an Oct. 6 sneak peek into its upcoming maker support series, which technically begins Nov. 1. The new fellows are Aliana Grace Bailey, Lindzor Parker, Josh Russakis, LaQuida Chancey and MC Carey.

Here are some other notable local Power Moves:

• Tenable, founded by a former NSA executive, has acquired Ermetic, known for its expertise in cloud identities. Tenable is hosting a webinar on Oct. 18 for people to learn more about this development.
• The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development marked the start of Digital Inclusion Week during a Digital Equity Resource Fair that Baltimore City Information and Technology hosted with Enoch Pratt Southeast Anchor Library on Monday. According to a press release, Secretary Jake Day announced the state’s allocation of over 30,000 laptops to Baltimore City and the Enoch Pratt Free Library system during the event. Eligible residents received the devices and additional resources.