By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Several experts in artificial intelligence (AI) gathered at the 2024 Becoming Everything You Are (BEYA) STEM Conference, organized by Tyrone Taborn’s Career Communications Group, on Feb. 16 to discuss the power and potential of the emerging technology. The seminar addressed the importance of AI adoption, its impact on […]
Author Archives: Megan Sayles AFRO Staff Writer
Megan Sayles is a business reporter for The Baltimore Afro-American paper. Before this, Sayles interned with Baltimore Magazine, where she wrote feature stories about the city’s residents, nonprofits and initiatives. Her love of music inspired her to be a writer. At a young age she realized it was not the melody that she was so infatuated with, but the lyrics that made up the song and connected with listeners. Sayles grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Maryland, where for her senior capstone project she reported on how the coronavirus and inequality intersected in Baltimore. She also worked as a staff writer and copy editor for campus publications, including Stories Beneath the Shell and The Black Explosion. Sayles teamed up with a partner to report on how the pandemic had put many more responsibilities on the oldest child in families. The Associated Press and other news organizations picked up her story.
Posted in!Front Page National News
Diaspora Women in Health Global Business Conference begins in National Harbor
By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Health LeadHer founder, Ogo Ekwueme, is hosting her annual Diaspora Women in Health Global Business Conference in partnership with Sharrarne Morton, founder of Black Door Society, Feb. 22 to Feb. 24 at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort and Convention Center. The summit is providing multicultural women with access to more […]
Posted inNational News
Black unemployment hit record low in 2023, Black wealth up 60 percent
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, Black unemployment peaked at 16.8 percent in the U.S. Now, White House officials have reported that 2023 was the lowest year for Black joblessness on record. It currently sits at 5.3 percent. Officials say the recovery was jump […]
Posted inBUSINESS
How to detect and avoid fraudulent tax preparers
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Tax season is upon us, with tax returns due to the IRS on April 15. If you brought in less than $64,000 last year, you qualify for free tax preparation through the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs, like the CASH Campaign of Maryland. If not, you may choose […]
Posted inAfro Newspaper
AFRO snags Honor Roll Award for Women’s Representation
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Executive Alliance has issued its 2024 Honor Roll Award for Women’s Representation, and the AFRO has made the list for the second year in a row. In order for a company to qualify for the honor, women must hold at least 30 percent of executive leadership positions and at least […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Violet Apple leaves CEO position with Girls Scouts of Central Maryland
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Violet Apple, the first Black CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, stepped down from her post on Jan. 31. Apple has led the organization, which serves more than 35,000 girls and adults, since 2014. Her exit marks the first time in her career that she has not […]
Posted inMaryland Government
Maryland Comptroller’s Office relocates to Baltimore’s Central Business District
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Comptroller Brooke Lierman kicked off tax season on Jan. 23 at the ribbon-cutting of her new Baltimore office at 7 Saint Paul Street. The new Office of the Comptroller is the first Maryland agency to move from the State Center Complex to downtown Baltimore. The space will accommodate […]
Posted inMaryland Government
Meet Nichelle Johnson, Maryland’s first MBE ombudsman
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Nichelle Johnson is now the first minority business enterprise (MBE) ombudsman for the state of Maryland. Governor Wes Moore appointed her to the post in January. In her new role, Johnson will serve in the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority and Women Business Affairs and work to enhance state procurement […]
Posted inCOMMUNITY
Housing for Everyone grant to deploy $7 million to affordable housing initiatives
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com The TD Charitable Foundation is awarding $7 million in grants to nonprofits addressing the affordable housing crisis across TD Bank’s Maine-to-Florida footprint and Michigan. This year, the Housing for Everyone grant program is targeting organizations that support marginalized communities members with rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing and transitional housing. Applications […]
Posted inMoney
CASH Campaign of Maryland announces 2024 locations for free tax preparation
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com The Creating Assets, Savings and Hope (CASH) Campaign of Maryland celebrated national Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Day on Jan. 26 by announcing the 2024 sites for the nonprofit’s free tax preparation services. Maryland households who made less than $64,000 in 2023 are eligible for the free service. Those who […]
Posted inTransportation
Baltimore City receives federal ‘Workforce Hub’ designation
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Baltimore has been one of five federally-designated Workforce Hubs across the United States for eight months now. President Joe Biden created the initiative as part of his Investing in America agenda to develop the requisite workforce for developments spurred by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation […]
Posted inBaltimore Community
Sydney’s Ice Creams: bringing sweet treats to Belair-Edison neighborhood
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sydney Newton, like so many others, found herself out of a job. She had been working as a server at The Capital Grille, but was laid off as restaurants were forced to shut down their dining rooms. The Northwood, Baltimore native became an […]