Henry Mortimer named director of University of Baltimore’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Henry Mortimer first got a glimpse of the University of Baltimore’s entrepreneurship community when he was a judge at the Pitch on the Plaza event in 2015. He returned to the event this week as an organizer, and handed “golden tickets” to entrepreneurs who then got a chance to pitch on the Startup Maryland bus.
The event is one of a flurry of new duties for Mortimer, who was recently named director of UB’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The new role is part of his own entrepreneurial journey, and deepens his connections in the local tech community. A former journalist, he started Mortimer Communications, which focuses on messaging and storytelling for businesses.
Tech community ties started a few years ago when an advisor suggested he connect with ETC, and he said he soon also linked with Betamore. He soon provided mentoring to startups at both spots. Likewise, the judging spot at UB soon blossomed into a mentoring role there.

Mortimer succeeds John Zuknick, who presided over an expansion of the Center before taking on a new role with the Universities at Shady Grove. A new space inside the Merrick School of Business opened in November, and with it a new push to extend the entrepreneurship offerings of the university’s “E-fellows” program to students from every major.
The Center’s goal is to help students and alumni launch businesses, and Mortimer said he sees lots of potential to link students to the network of resources available in the city that he’s been involved in over the last few years. But, to Mortimer, the Center’s reach is not just about the university. While there are some tech startups that come through (like Roadi), Mortimer sees a diversity of ideas that can have a direct impact on the city.
“We really are able to give back to the Baltimore community by providing good, solid businesses that will help revitalize Baltimore, one community at a time,” he said.