OSI-Baltimore board member Alicia Wilson is featured on the latest episode of Center Maryland’s podcast, The Conference Call with Damian O’Doherty, talking about her experiences as a community advocate, the lifelong influence of her mentor, and her work as the “connective tissue” between the Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
Wilson, the Vice President of Economic Development for Johns Hopkins University and Medical system, works to connect the medical system and the university, which may seem like one enterprise, but are really two separate entities. And she does it with an intentional, local lens, focusing on not only hiring locally, but buying, and investing in surrounding communities as well.
Wilson also spoke of the time she met UMBC President Freeman “Doc” Hrabowski as a 16-year-old student at Mervo and he encouraged her to attend UMBC, promising that he would mentor her. “That was a moment in my life when I critically needed somebody to uplift me,” she said, a moment that she has returned to many times over her career. “The more I help people, the more I do what Dr. Hrabowski did for me – affirm and uplift people –I get that back more.”
Listen to the full interview, “The Value of Being Local with Alicia Wilson”, by clicking here.
