Fresh Take ft. Jamie McDonald

This Fresh Take interview featured Jamie McDonald, CEO of UpSurge Baltimore. JB and Jamie discuss Upsurge’s ‘Equitech’ framework, which anchors its work in a belief that diversity of teams, leadership, and perspectives are a force multiplier for tech company growth. They will also discuss the broader need for equity and inclusivity to power innovation ecosystems across the Capital Region.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Jamie Mcdonald is the CEO of UpSurge Baltimore. She is an experienced entrepreneur, movement builder, and speaker. Prior to joining UpSurge, she was an advisor to global entrepreneurs, social innovators, and impact-focused executives. She’s been deeply involved in work on behalf of Baltimore throughout her career.

Jamie has been featured in publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the White House Social Innovation Blog, NTEN, The Baltimore Sun and many others. She is featured in the recently released book, Women Make Great Leaders, by bestselling author, Jill Griffin.

Jamie places a high priority on civic engagement.  She has been a longtime Board member of the Center for Urban Families.  She was the founding Chair of Light City, an international festival of innovation and light, that attracted more than 470,000 people in 2017.  She continues as Chair of the Labs@LightCity, one of the country's largest and most unique urban innovation conferences. She also serves on the boards of Open Society Institute, Impact Hub Baltimore, Venture for America, Johns Hopkins Social Innovation Lab, and #MarylandGivesMore. She has previously served on the boards of The Leadership, the Family Tree, Live! Baltimore, The Fund for Educational Excellence, and the Police Athletic League (PAL), among others.  She is a past co-chair of the Tocqueville Campaign ($10,000 gifts) for the United Way of Central Maryland and sat on the national board of the Keewaydin Foundation. 

Jamie was named Maryland Innovator of the Year in 2012.  She is a graduate of the 1997 class of the Greater Baltimore Committee’s Leadership program.  She was named one of Baltimore Business Journal’s “40 under 40.” She received the SiloBreaker award from Betamore in 2016. She received the Downtown Partnership's award for impact on Baltimore in 2016. She received the William Donald Schaefer award for the City of Baltimore in 2017. She was recognized as an Activist to Watch in 2017.

Jamie McDonald attended Cornell University for graduate school, focusing on International Development in a joint program between the College of Human Ecology and the Johnson Graduate School of Management.  She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Philadelphia University.