Last week, 2020 OSI Community Fellow Atiya Wells appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show to talk about the organization she founded, BLISS Meadows, which has reclaimed 10 acres in Northeast Baltimore as a public park and farm space with chickens, goats, and rabbits, that has produced 22,000 pounds of food for community members, and provided […]
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OSI Director participates in conversation about racial equity in business and philanthropy
Wednesday, March 17, 2021Last week, OSI-Baltimore Director Danielle Torain participated in Loyola University’s virtual panel discussion and networking event, “Stronger Together: Advancing Racial Equity and Business Growth,” as part of its Building a Better World Through Business series. Elizabeth Kennedy, associate professor of law and social responsibility at Loyola, moderated the panel, which also included Will Holmes, chairman of […]
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Baltimore pastors and activists, including OSI Fellow, featured on ABC’s “Soul of a Nation”
Wednesday, March 17, 2021Last night, ABC aired the fifth part of its six-part series on “the realities of Black life,” “Soul of a Nation.” The episode focused on faith, and included a segment about Baltimore hosted by Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts, who grew up in Baltimore and attended New Shiloh Baptist Church. Pitts interviewed New Shiloh Pastor Dr. […]
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Advocates celebrate passage of the landmark Kirwan legislation
Thursday, March 11, 2021Last week, Strong Schools Maryland convened organizers, legislators, funders, and other supporters for a remote celebration of the landmark passage of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the historic education equity legislation that includes recommendations from the Kirwan Commission Report. Strong Schools Maryland’s Joe Francaviglia hosted the event, which included remarks from State Senate President Bill […]
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New report chronicles path to reduced incarceration and crime in Maryland, offers road map to other states
Friday, March 05, 2021BALTIMORE—Maryland has reduced its projected prison population by 25% over the last eighteen years thanks to a series of incentive-based reforms that can serve as a model for correctional systems nationwide, according to a new report released today by Open Society Institute-Baltimore and JFA Institute. The report, Safely Reducing Prison Populations: The Maryland Story, notes […]
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BRIDGES Coalition members talk about Overdose Prevention Sites on WEAA
Wednesday, March 03, 2021Last night, Candy Kerr and Ricky Morris, Sr., members of the OSI-supported BRIDGES Coalition, appeared on WEAA’s For the Culture, hosted by Farajii Muhammad, to talk about the prospect of opening Overdose Prevention Sites (OPS) in Maryland. You can listen to the segment here – it starts at the 30:50 mark of the Hour 2 […]
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OSI Fellow Ateira Griffin named to Baltimore City School Board
Friday, February 19, 2021Today, Mayor Brandon Scott selected 2020 OSI Community Fellow Ateira Griffin for the Baltimore City Schools Board of Commissioners. Griffin, a former teacher at Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, founded Building Our Nation’s Daughters (BOND), a nonprofit that works to build effective communication strategies for single mothers and their daughters. Ateira will be the […]
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Baltimore magazine includes OSI grantees among “30 women who are shaping Baltimore’s future”
Wednesday, February 17, 2021The cover story of Baltimore magazine’s February issue, titled “She’s Got Next,” profiles “30 women who are shaping Baltimore’s future,” and includes several OSI-Baltimore grantees and partners. The cover features Nykidra Robinson, the CEO of Black Girls Vote, an OSI grantee and partner on Party at the Mailbox and the Blueprint for Baltimore projects. Among […]
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State Senate Finance Committee to hear bill expanding trauma-informed care training to state agencies
Thursday, February 11, 2021Today at 1pm, the State Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing for Senate Bill 299, which expands on Baltimore City’s Elijah Cummings Healing City Act, which mandated trauma-informed care training for employees of city agencies, to apply to state agencies as well. The bill, sponsored by Senator Jill Carter (D-41), establishes “the Commission on Trauma-Informed […]
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OSI Director to co-chair Mayor’s Guaranteed Income Steering Committee
Wednesday, February 10, 2021Yesterday, Mayor Brandon Scott announced that he would join the national organization, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, and create a Steering Committee to explore a process of “launching a guaranteed income pilot to increase economic security among low-income residents.” To co-chair the Steering Committee, Mayor Scott named OSI-Baltimore Director Danielle Torain and Joe Jones, President […]
