By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com JPMorgan Chase held the grand opening of its new branch at Howard University (HU) on March 21, marking the first college-based branch for the financial institution. During the ceremony, the firm also announced a $3.5 million philanthropic investment to Congress Heights Community Training and Development Corporation (CHCTDC). “What […]
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 inBUSINESS
Black women take over the metaverse
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com McKinsey and Company defines the “metaverse,” as the emerging 3-D-enabled digital space that uses virtual reality, augmented reality and other advanced internet and semiconductor technologies to allow for lifelike personal and business experiences online. The term’s roots date back to 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash,” written by […]
Posted inTechnology
Black Women of STEM: how four entrepreneurs are changing science, technology, engineering and math
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers are some of the highest-paying, fastest-growing professions on the job market. In 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the median annual wage across all STEM occupations was $95,420 compared to $40,120 for non-STEM occupations. But, the STEM workforce […]
Posted inBUSINESS
CASH Campaign of Maryland to host 16th Money Power Day, the region’s largest, free financial education event
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The Creating Assets, Savings and Hope (CASH) Campaign of Maryland is hosting its 16th Money Power Day on March 18 at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Western High School campuses from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This event is the region’s largest, free financial education fair, helping attendees […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Q&A with Shelby Switzer, new director of Baltimore’s Digital Services Team
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Mayor Brandon Scott in January announced that Shelby Switzer would become director of Baltimore’s new Digital Services Team. The unit, created with a $2.1 million investment from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), is the umbrella under which digital services are to be streamlined in the city. The […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore-based Securityplus Federal Credit Union merges with Mount Lebanon to broaden opportunities at the faith based federal credit union
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Faith-based credit union Mount Lebanon Federal Credit Union (MLFCU) recently merged with Baltimore-based Securityplus Federal Credit Union (FCU) to provide its members with greater banking solutions. “Residents don’t have many opportunities where MLFCU’s location was to find other banking institutions, so we are now right in their neighborhood,” […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore’s post-pandemic woman: rediscovered, reinvented, reshaping work life balance
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Leadership of Baltimore County (LBC) on March 16 will host its second women’s event at the BECO Towers in Owings Mill, Md. This event, which is open to the public, will focus on how women can rebalance, rediscover and reinvent themselves, and it will help leaders learn how […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Five organizations leading the battle against hunger and food insecurity
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The “food desert” label has seen an uptick in usage, as low-income communities across the country continue to lose access to fresh fruits and vegetables and full-service grocery stores within a ten mile radius. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that 13.5 million U.S. residents are current […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Personality Pups teaches children how to develop and embrace their own personality
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com When Darius Bridges was 12 years old, his art teacher assigned an origami project to his class. A friend taught the Maryland native how to make an origami puppy, and after turning it in, he aced the assignment. Since he enjoyed the project so much, Bridges continued making […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Black-owned real estate company launches crowdfunding campaign to revamp Edmondson Village Shopping Center
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Since negotiating a contract to acquire the Edmondson Village Shopping Center for $17,050,000, Black-owned Chicago TREND has invited Black entrepreneurs, local impact investors and residents to support the redevelopment of the Southwest Baltimore shopping center. The commercial real estate company launched a crowdfunding campaign through SmallChange.com for Baltimoreans […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Bidder controversy: Gov. Moore orders new procurement process for BWI concessions contract
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Governor Wes Moore has instructed the Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) to conduct a new procurement process to determine who will hold the contract for concessions offered at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI). The directive comes after the MAA recommended New Market Development, a local, Black-founded development firm, […]
Posted inNational News
State governments key in supporting undocumented immigrants during COVID-19 pandemic
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com When the COVID-19 pandemic began to hinder employment in the U.S., the federal government worked quickly to roll out financial relief programs and expand unemployment benefits for Americans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. But, families who live in the U.S. illegally were omitted […]