Engaging the Baltimore Region

On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration Tech Hubs Director Eric Smith visited the Baltimore Tech Hub to learn first-hand from Tech Hub consortium members about the region’s infrastructural assets, component projects, and our strategies for supercharging our artificial intelligence and biotechnology sectors. 

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) hosted its inaugural Baltimore Region Investment Summit on Thursday, June 27, 2024 at the Maryland Institute of Contemporary Art. An official spin-off event of the SelectUSA Investment Summit, the event featured dozens of Baltimore-based corporate leaders from across the region’s tech, healthcare, life sciences, real estate, economic development, branding, and creative economies highlighting the investment potential of the Baltimore region to the global business community. 

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) hosted its 69th Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at the expansive Tradepoint Atlantic site at Sparrows Point, welcoming more than 450 attendees from across the region’s business, technology, economic development, nonprofit, and civic sectors for a celebration of the Baltimore Region’s economic promise and resiliency.

On April 5th, close to 300 Baltimore Region leaders came together at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport for the unveiling of the first-ever Baltimore Region Investment Scorecard. The Scorecard quantifies the past year’s local, domestic, and international investment activity to provide a deeper look into the impact of global business trends on the region’s future economic growth. Attendees also witnessed a Keynote Address by Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President & CEO Tom Barkin and presentations by Comptroller of Maryland Brooke Lierman, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, Executive Director/CEO of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Ricky Smith, UpSurge Baltimore CEO Kory Bailey, University of Maryland Medical System President and CEO and GBC Board Chair Mohan Suntha, along with insights on the scorecards impact from a panel of experts.

On December 13th, the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC), Baltimore Development Corporation and Baltimore Mayor’s Office honored the winners of the 49th annual Mayor’s Business Recognition Awards at M&T Bank Exchange at the France Merrick Performing Arts Center in Baltimore. The event honored organizations with an active presence in Baltimore that have demonstrated significant leadership and commitment to improving the quality of life in the city.

On December 12th, GBC leadership and staff ventured out to the Maryland Innovation Center joined Department of Labor, Department of Commerce, Howard County Community College, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, COPT Defense Properties, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, and other industry leaders for a tour of the Maryland Innovation Center in Columbia, Maryland. 

On December 11th, GBC President & CEO Mark Anthony Thomas joined with Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott, BUILD Co-Chair George Hopkins, and dozens of area faith leaders to pledge the organization’s commitment to marshaling the resources of the region’s business community to end the crisis of vacant and abandoned properties in Baltimore City over the next 15 years. The joint agreement with the Mayor and BUILD would address at least 37,500 properties by leveraging more than $3 billion in public and private financing, an amount representing one of the single-largest investments in neighborhood redevelopment in the history of Baltimore City.

On November 8th, GBC offices served as the venue for the launch of the next-generation life sciences accelerator Blackbird Laboratories. The mission of Blackbird Labs is to help universities and investigators commercialize their academic research to build innovative companies, bring world-changing technologies to life, and create a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in Baltimore. Blackbird Labs will engage in research collaborations with Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the Lieber Institute for Brain Development.

On October 16th, GBC convened close to 400 members, partners, and regional stakeholders for the first-ever Transportation and Economic Opportunity Summit. The event highlighted the major transportation projects underway to improve connectivity throughout the region and catalyze economic opportunity in our core. Speakers also discussed plans for major new investments throughout downtown and the waterfront area that will bring fresh energy and vitality to Baltimore in the years to come, creating a new renaissance for our region.

On September 8th, our economic development consultant TIP Strategies met with dozens of GBC partners to get an understanding of what they viewed as Baltimore’s greatest successes, persistent challenges, and strategic assets. These conversations are helping to guide the ongoing development of GBC’s 10-year Economic Opportunity Strategy for the region.   

On August 24th, GBC organized a media briefing at Morgan State University that included a 38-member consortium of tech industry leaders, academic officials, workforce development professionals, and other stakeholders to discuss the work that was done to position the Baltimore region for a federal Tech Hub designation.

On August 8th, GBC Partnered with Mindgrub Technologies and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to present “AI in A Minor,” an event which featured several BSO chamber musicians performing AI-generated musical works that was followed by a panel discussion featuring GBC Chief Economic Officer Pothik Chatterjee.

On July 27th, Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul Wiedefeld visited GBC Offices for a high-level strategy session with area business leaders to outline the steps needed to realize an East-West Transit Connector for the Baltimore region.

On July 16th, GBC President & CEO Mark Anthony Thomas joined with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, the community development organization BUILD, and faith leaders from across the city to announce GBC’s intention to address nearly 70,000 properties that are vacant housing, vacant lots, or at-risk of becoming vacant.

On May 25th, GBC hosted its first Annual Meeting since merging with the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore at Baltimore Peninsula. The event brought together hundreds of civic and business leaders and featured the release of the organization’s multi-year agenda.