Charm City Dreamers

Chris Riehl is the owner and president of Baltimore Rent-A-Tour. Since purchasing the company in 2007 he has worked with hundreds of visitors to the Baltimore region helping create unforgettable experiences. He's passionate about sharing stories that showcase just how special a place Baltimore is and believes that the tourism and hospitality industry plays a key role in supporting jobs and economi...

Ali and Andres are two of the co-founders of the Holistic Life Foundation.  Through their work at the Holistic Life Foundation they have helped develop and pilot yoga and mindfulness programs at public and private schools, drug treatment centers, juvenile detention centers, mental crisis facilities, and retreat centers, nationally and internationally. Their work with the Holistic Life Foundation h...

Antonia came to Homeless Persons Representation Project (HPRP) as its Executive Director in 2007. She is responsible for providing strategic leadership for Maryland's only legal services and advocacy organization dedicated to eliminating homelessness; communicating the mission, programs, and need of its clients to the public; developing and maintaining sound relationships with collaborators, suppo...

In 2015 Will Gee co-founded Balti Virtual, a creative studio that has designed augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences for clients including Under Armour, PayPal, Stanley Black and Decker, Sagamore Development, and NBCUniversal. He was recently honored as one of the Baltimore Business Journal's "Tech10." Prior to Balti Virtual, Will contributed titles such as "European Air War,...

Michelle Geiss is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Impact Hub Baltimore. As a community workspace for 230+ social entrepreneurs, Impact Hub Baltimore and its members are building an innovative local economy that advances equity and addresses the city's complex challenges. Ms. Geiss is a specialist in program design and strategy for social innovation and social enterprise. She draws on fift...

Thibault Manekin is one of the co-founders of Seawall Development and original founders of Peaceplayers International. Learn how Thibault has been uniting communities through creative ideas and re-developing the built environment.

Fred  "Big  Fred " Watkins is a comedian, actor and show producer from Baltimore, MD. Known most notably as a member of "The Empire" on Oxygen Tv's hit show "Last Squad Standing". Fred is the founder of "Lil Laughs" which is an anti-bullying based mentoring program for kids that directly addresses public speaking, confidence, and various other enrichment opportunities. 

In this episode we shared the live panel interview recording from the first ever Charm City Dreamers Gala. The panel features 6 past guests Alicia Wilson, Van Brooks, Rebecca Hoffberger, Chris Wilson, MaryBeth Hyland and  James Bond

In March 2000, after practicing law for 14 years, Randi Pupkin founded Art with a Heart. Art with a Heart is a non-profit organization that provides 14,500 interactive visual art classes annually to children, youth and adults in Baltimore's most compromised communities. In addition to its core classes, Art with a Heart's efforts include a workforce development program, a leadership program, commun...

Joseph T. Jones, Jr. is founder of the Center For Urban Families, a Baltimore nonprofit service organization established to strengthen urban communities by helping fathers and families achieve stability and economic success. Mr. Jones is a national leader in workforce development, fatherhood and family services programming, and through his professional and civic involvement influences policy direc...

Funlayo Alabi and her husband co-founded Shea Radiance, a natural beauty brand dedicated to transforming hair, skin, thinking and lives into something beautiful. She believes in the power of economic access and what can happen when women reach out to lift other women, regardless of their differences.

The grandson of four Holocaust survivors, David has made it his life purpose to leverage the power of collective memory to inspire collective action towards a world of "Never Again." David is the founder and CEO of Together We Remember (TWR) a non-profit focused on empowering the next generation to transform remembrance into action. TWR hosts dozens of live vigils around the world that brings peop...

Brian Levin is a Baltimore based filmmaker who recently returned from a decade in Los Angeles. He has created content for Disney/Time Warner/Lionsgate/Comedy Central and many other film/tv companies.  He has just wrapped up his directing debut on his new film, which was shot in Maryland and had many cast and crew from the area.  The film will now be submitted to festivals around the world as it be...

Mary Miller spent 26 years in the investment management industry with T. Rowe Price in Baltimore. She was Director of the Fixed Income Division and also served on the firm's management committee, asset allocation committee, and as a trustee of the T. Rowe Price Foundation. After the financial crisis, Ms. Miller was recruited to serve at the Treasury from 2010 through 2014, first as the Assistant S...

Maimouna Youssef is a global citizen, a musical healer, a cultural philanthropist and a community pillar. As she states "knowing your heritage gives you a different kind of purpose with your life". Maimouna Youssef has shared stages with music giants such as Sting, Nas, Common, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Ed Sheeran, Queen Latifah, and many others.

Delshan Baker is the head of investment for Thread. In this episode you will learn about Delshan's story and how she is helping Thread create a movement that will change the nature of how we define family & communities.

Learn all about the Baltimore Jazz scene with saxophonist David Diongue. He moved to Baltimore at age 5 and discovered music through saxophonist and educator Carl Grubbs. With the help of local musicians, Diongue was accepted to Baltimore School for the Arts where he studied with Tim Green and Dr. Chris Ford.  Diongue went on to Oberlin Conservatory to study with Gary Barty, critically acclaimed s...

Chris grew up under extremely difficult circumstances. Poverty, drug addiction, and gun violence was the everyday norm in his community. At the age of 17, he was charged with a crime, convicted, and sentenced to natural life in prison. It was during times of isolation that he decided to not only to turn his life around, but to make a difference in the lives of people who currently live in poverty-...

Before we were selling wild kombucha in over 400 stores across 5 states, we were three friends making kombucha out of the side of a juice shop in Baltimore. We have continued to grow in our new brewery over the past two years, and have since been able to give back. As a proud supporter of the National Wildlife Federation, every bottle of Wild Kombucha helps protect wildlife habitats.

Ryan Odom is the head basketball coach of UMBC. In a six-day span, UMBC won an America East Conference title at prohibitive favorite Vermont and followed up by engineering the first victory for a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed in NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament history.  UMBC overwhelmed the tournament's top overall seed, Virginia, 74-54, in Charlotte, N.C., earning an ESPY nomination for the "Bes...

Marilyn Ness is a two-time Emmy, Peabody, and DuPont Award winning filmmaker, is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and works as a producer and a director.  Most recently, she directed CHARM CITY which will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival 2018. Before that, she produced CAMERAPERSON (dir. Kirsten Johnson) premiered at Sundance 2016, was released by the Criterion Col...

Mr. Selby is the Executive Director for Year Up Baltimore and Interim Executive Director for Year Up Greater Philadelphia, a national non profit organization that provides workforce development for young adults 18-24 years of age. A native of Baltimore and an alumni of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Morgan State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. Mr. Selb...

Jessica Watson is the President and Creative Director of Points North, a graphic design studio based in Baltimore. She is a Brand and Communications Strategist who partners with CEO's, executives and entrepreneurs to transform them from where they are into where they want to be. With over a decade of experience working in marketing for diverse companies, global foundations and startups, Jessica kn...

Marcus L. Wang, Esq. is the Co-Founder, President and General Manager of the Baltimore-based ZytoGen Global Genetics Institute, a CAP-accredited genetics testing company driving successful pregnancy outcomes for patients worldwide through its proprietary preimplantation genetic screening platform. ZytoGen has experienced rapid growth and achieved profitability within two years of its inception in...

Alicia went from a trade highschool in East Baltimore, to becoming the youngest and first African American partner at Gordon Feinblatt, and today she is the Sr. VP of impact investment and Sr. Legal Counsel to the Port Covington Development team where she was the lead negotiator in the passage the largest Tax Increment Financing Bill in US history at the time of $660 Million.