Baltimore Power Moves: Venture for America appoints development director Erica Myers from within

Black women in leadership

VFA gets a new director of development  

Amidst a restructuring and layoffs at national nonprofit Venture For America (VFA), Erica Myers, the organization’s former director of Baltimore operations, has transitioned to a new role as director of development. Approximately two months into her new position, Myers expressed her support for VFA’s “incredible” work on Giving Tuesday.

“As a Director of Development and previous Director of Baltimore, I’ve been a part of the incredible work VFA does firsthand and can attest to the transformative impact they have on aspiring young leaders and the communities they serve,” Myers said on LinkedIn.

Myers also serves as the founder of Fosterprenuer, a company dedicated to helping foster care alumni reach their entrepreneurial aspirations. Fosterprenuer recently launched a podcast; its inaugural episode features an interview with 2023 RealLIST Connector Anthony McCray, a participant in Fosterpreneur’s fall 2020 cohort.

Hotel Revival appoints director for community engagement

According to a press release, Briana “Bree” Payne has joined Mount Vernon-based Hotel Revival as its new director of impact. She will oversee relationships with community-based entrepreneurs, diverse specialty partners and other individuals requiring support as part of the hotel’s community engagement efforts.

A new storytelling app

Cofounder Brian Carlson of eThink Education, a Baltimore-based edtech company acquired by Learning Technologies Group in 2020, has launched a new venture named Storytime AI alongside former PricewaterhouseCoopers director Scott  Quinlan. The recently released app uses generative AI to help teachers and parents craft personalized, culturally relevant on-demand books for children.

“Our goal is to make this as accessible to as many users and schools in the community as possible as a tool for parents and teachers,” Carlson told Technical.ly via LinkedIn. “So we are excited to be offering free access to all Baltimore City Schools.”

Those interested in trying the app out can use the code TECH01 to get access and create a free book in the app.

Maryland hears digital equity concerns

A recent Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition meeting included a presentation by the Maryland Office of Statewide Broadband on a draft of the State Digital Equity Plan. The meeting included a listening session with the state office that captured over 100 voices for a document containing public comments.

The feedback predominantly centered around concerns and recommendations related to digital equity. It specifically addressed socioeconomic status, race and geographic disparities in the adoption of digital tools and broadband access. Comments underscored the absence of these considerations in the list, emphasized the need for geographic characterization in evaluating digital tool adoption and stressed the importance of measuring broadband adoption beyond mere access and enrollment.

Science!

• Wexford Science & Technology’s 4MLK development in downtown Baltimore reached a milestone with the completion of its eight-story, 250,000-square-foot building’s concrete core structure. A Dec. 1 topping-off celebration marked this benchmark for the facility, which will aim to provide wet laboratory space, flexible areas for start-ups and Class A office space.
• Baltimore’s National Aquarium and its board of directors welcomed new members Victor Abiamiri, Dori Henry and Katie Matthews. Abiamiri is a partner at Brown Advisory, while Henry is chief of staff for fellow board member and Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski Jr. Matthews is a chief scientist at Oceana with a Ph.D. in earth and environmental science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Social enterprises

• Innovation Works celebrated its fifth anniversary at Lexington Market on Nov. 15. Jay Nwachu, CEO of Innovation Works and Ignite Capital, told Technical.ly that the celebration featured poetry, insights from “The Black Butterfly” author and scholar Lawrence Brown, and testimonials from entrepreneurs impacted by the program.
  • “The evening was a testament to our collective commitment to addressing the pressing issue of the racial wealth divide in Baltimore City,” Nwachu said via email.

• Reveille Grounds, a collaborative home base and co-working space for veterans and military groups, officially opened its physical location in Baltimore’s Pigtown neighborhood on Nov. 11 . Founder Katie Kilby told Technical.ly that the space is complemented by a new EcoMap Technologies-hosted platform. EcoMap CEO Sherrod Davis was also present for the event.

Other Power Moves

• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield President and CEO Brian D. Pieninck was elected as the chair of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) Board of Directors. Pieninck will lead the governing body that provides strategic guidance and oversight to BCBSA, which an announcement said is responsible for overseeing care for 3.5 million individuals and employers across Maryland, DC and northern Virginia.
• University of Maryland, Baltimore spinout PumasAI this week announced Vijay Ivaturi as its new CEO starting Jan. 1, 2024. The company offers tools and services to help entities at various points of the healthcare ecosystem make data-informed decisions about care and compliance. Founder and current CEO Joga Gobburu will become chairman of the company’s board. Although PumasAI’s legal address is in Dover, Delaware. Ivaturi and Gobburu still work from Baltimore.
• On Thanksgiving, Baltimore Development Corporation President Colin Tarbert shared a video on LinkedIn created by Wide Angle Youth Media that documents the organization’s advancements in “building a strong and equitable economy” for Baltimore. Tarbert described the brief video as an encapsulation of the strides achieved under the Baltimore Together vision over the past two years.