Charm City Dreamers

Jay A. Perman, MD, became the sixth president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) in July 2010. A pediatric gastroenterologist, Perman continues to practice medicine through his weekly President's Clinic, where he teaches team-based health care to students of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, law, and social work. Interprofessional, team-based care is a priority of Perman's: In 20...

Marc has served as the professional leader of the Associated system since 2003 and is one of only six individuals who have held this position over the Associated's 100-year history. In this important leadership capacity, Marc has provided vision and practical strategies to enhance community building, resource development and deployment and the fostering of alliances with a wide array of strategic...

Van Brooks is the founder and executive director of the Safe Alternative Foundation for Education. He was a three-sport athlete who, a t the age of sixteen, broke his neck while attempting to make a tackle. As a result of this injury, Van was initially paralyzed from the neck down, unable to talk, eat or feel. In spite of such a tragedy, Van did not let this stop him. He went on to graduate from L...

Rebecca Alban Hoffberger is the founder, director and principal curator of the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). As a life-long devotee of the power of intuition and fresh thought, Rebecca is constantly challenging the status quo. In this episode we explore how Rebecca founded the museum, delve into her view on the art world, and share her vision for the future.

Verlando Brown was born and raised in West Baltimore. He is committed to using his story and experience to uplift other first generation college students. Verlando was a thought partner on Michelle Obama's Reach Higher Initiative. ​

Fostering Change Network's expertise in child welfare begins with Founder and CEO Shalita O'Neale, a highly trusted and nationally recognized professional both inside and outside of both social work and foster care circles. Shalita's ultimate goal is to dispel the stigma of foster care by highlighting the contributions of alumni of the foster care and providing them with the resources, tools and p...

James Piper Bond is the CEO and President of the Living Classrooms Foundation. His mission is to strengthen communities and inspire young people to achieve their potential through hands-on education and job training, using urban, natural, and maritime resources as "living classrooms."

Judge Friedman is an Associate Judge on the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, 8th Judicial Circuit. She was the first female orthodox judge in the state of Maryland and has been leader and role model for inspiring change. Among many accomplishments Judge Friedman was listed in Maryland's top 100 women by the daily record.

MaryBeth Hyland, founder of SparkVision, believes that when you connect people through purpose, there's no limit to what they can do. Her organization crafts culture, and designs experiences to strengthen the bonds that help people accomplish extraordinary things together. SparkVision creates environments where people thrive. MaryBeth is most proud of her role as a foster parent and volunteer work...

Artist entrepreneur and innovator behind the creative labs. Richard is redefining how we use space in Baltimore by expanding the city's art ecosystem! Learn more about his unconventional story from military service to art entrepreneur. For more on his project visit createbmore.com

Panagis is a pulmonary and critical care physician at Johns Hopkins. He is focused on tackling health disparities across Baltimore though his organization Medicine for the Greater Good (MGG).

Seth Franz is a social entrepreneur driven by his passion for Baltimore. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Volunteering Untapped. Seth believes that building an informed and engaged citizenry is central to understanding a city's problems well enough to develop solutions. Through Volunteering Untapped, Seth accomplishes this in Baltimore by connecting young professionals to the nonprofits...

Dejuan Patterson is the executive director of the BeMore Group. He was named as "Baltimore's Walking Angel" by Elite daily. Dejuan has overcome being robbed and shot in the head as a teenager to become a businessman, public servant, and community organizer. His goal in life is to leave this world a better place than when he entered.

In this episode I briefly explain what the goal is for Charm City Dreamers, share a little bit about who I am, and explain why I am so compelled to spend my free time working on this podcast.