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“This is a game changer.”
Tiffany Green, M.P.A. ’20, cut the ribbon on a once-dilapidated house she renovated in the Liberty Square neighborhood of Baltimore.
Sept. 17, 2021 was the culmination of years of hard work that started in 2019 when she won the inaugural Pitch for a Million Real Estate Fellows competition, based out of the Merrick School of Business, and supported by Baltimore Community Lending.
“I’m grateful especially because where I come from, Brooklyn, New York, and living in public housing… sometimes this opportunity doesn’t seem possible to those particular residents and to know that I’m paving the way … This is the first of many and I’m grateful, I’m so grateful and I cannot wait to see the individual who is going to be blessed to move into such as house as this. We put our heart, soul and sweat into this house.”
The Fellows program aims to support aspiring University of Baltimore student real estate entrepreneurs who are interested in addressing critical development needs within Baltimore’s middle-market neighborhoods. They go through a 10-week mentoring program with seasoned professionals from the metro area.
Seema Iyer, the professor who launched the Fellowship program, and Mikita Thompson and Trina DuBose, two student fellows part of the program’s second cohort, attended the ribbon cutting. Thompson is also Green’s real estate agent.
“It’s really a testament to her ability to take a lot of different resources and move the football down the field,” Iyer said of Green. “And that’s what real estate is. It’s really about relationship building, it’s about maintaining a long-time vision and then seeing it to fruition and that can take a lot of time and if you had no support to do that, it’s nearly impossible. So, I’m proud of the support The University of Baltimore gave to her, I’m proud of the tenacity she showed to wrestle other resources that we couldn’t even dream of, and I’m really happy for this neighborhood, which is the ultimate beneficiary of her work.”
Watch Tiffany’s interview on WDVM to learn more about her journey>>
The Community Development Fellowship Program—housed in the Schaefer Center for Public Policy—gives dynamic, motivated students who have a strong interest in effecting positive change in urban areas the opportunity to strengthen their leadership skills and gain practical experience. By matching students, this grant-funded fellowship program aims to improve the city while cultivating the next generation of community development leaders. Despite the limitations of the pandemic, a record 14 Fellows graduated from the program in its fifth year. While many of the cohort gained hands-on experience from onsite work with organizations that directly support Baltimore neighborhoods, remote work was made possible with additional funding for technology through the Schaefer Center.
Meet the 2021 Community Development Fellows>>
COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING
From 2020-2021, UBalt was able to not only continue presenting free community programming, but also establish new paths for community engagement and partnership thanks to Foundation funding.
The College of Public Affairs continued the Henry A. Rosenberg Dialogue Series with a timely online panel discussion, “The Coronavirus Pandemic and Sustained Peak Loads for First Responders: Promoting Resilience and Care for Burnout.”
The Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics launched two new public series: “Author Meets Critic,” designed to inspire ethics-related dialogue through debate and cross-disciplinary conversation; and “Leadership in Action” kicked off with Terri Lee Freeman, director of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture and included free museum memberships for participants.
Learn more about the Henry A. Rosenberg Dialogue Series>>
Learn more about the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics>>
QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY
One interesting side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was its impact on truancy rates and subsequently, our Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts’ Truancy Court Program.
While TCP actually increased the number of schools they served in 2020-21, the number of students they interacted with decreased as virtual attendance dropped off in Baltimore City schools.
Early in the academic year, they shared the following on the TCP blog: “COVID-19 and the subsequent transition to distance learning across Baltimore City has created one of the most extreme and pervasive barriers to school attendance ever confronted by CFCC’s Truancy Court Program (TCP) Team. Without the ability to meet in person with students and families, the team has pivoted to virtual assistance and support. In recognition of the sudden and dire financial burden many families are experiencing, TCP staff are focusing on providing support and referrals for basic needs. They also continue to advocate as necessary to ensure consistent access to education and protection of legal rights for students. Families and students participating in the TCP are receiving:
- Up-to-date instructions regarding how to access free food, hygiene products and other basic necessities
- Information on the rapidly-changing nature of academic delivery – from work packets to online lessons
- Continued advocacy with Baltimore City Public Schools on behalf of students experiencing homelessness and those with learning differences
- Support regarding access to Chromebooks and internet services
- Assistance and information regarding new COVID-related benefits”
Despite the challenges presented by this new virtual environment, CFCC Executive Director Rebecca Stahl saw some silver linings. The TPC Team was able to elevate the quality of interactions with the students they serve by forging deeper connections and filling in gaps where the sense of community and belonging that comes from being in school was lost. In addition, they engaged parents more deeply by offering online enrichment sessions on important topics like school choice and understanding your rights within the school system as a parent.
Learn more about the Truancy Court Program and the Center for Families, Children and the Courts>>