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 […]
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
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 […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Financial Literacy 101: getting your credit back on track
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com After three decades of financial industry work, Heather Philp, senior vice president of credit card product management at Wells Fargo Bank, has seen it all. While some things in the finance industry have changed– many things stay the same. Financial literacy will always be key to effectively managing […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
JPMorgan Chase continues Northern Virginia expansion; partners with More Than Peach to increase financial literacy in youth
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com JPMorgan Chase celebrated the grand opening of its first branch in Leesburg, Va. on Feb. 17, helping to satisfy the firm’s ongoing commitment to expanding its footprint in Northern Virginia. The financial institution now has three branches in Loudoun County, and by the end of 2023, it will […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Spotlight on Black excellence: meet Katina Williams, chief financial officer and vice president of finance for Johns Hopkins Hospital
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com When North Carolina native Katina Williams won the job of vice president of finance and chief financial officer for the Johns Hopkins Hospital (Johns Hopkins) in 2021, she and her family relocated for the first time outside her home state. They landed in Howard County, Md. For Williams, […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Bowie State University awarded $1.5 million to increase the pipeline of Black male educators
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The U.S. Department of Education’s Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program recently awarded more than $1.5 million to Bowie State University (BSU) to support the school’s Black Male Educators Project. The initiative strives to increase the number of Black male teachers in early childhood, elementary, secondary and […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Black entrepreneurs and elected officials gather for MBE Night in Annapolis
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Entrepreneurs, state officials, financial services companies and members of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland gathered on Feb. 28 for MBE Night in Annapolis. The event was created by former Delegate Herman Taylor, who wanted to bring together the private and public sectors to help minority business enterprise […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Wells Fargo awards $50 million to NAACP
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Wells Fargo recently awarded the NAACP a $50 million grant to help the civil rights organization develop a new national headquarters in Washington D.C. and bolster local NAACP branches across the country. The grant marks the single-largest donation that the NAACP has ever received from a corporation. “We’re […]
Posted inHBCU
Morgan State and Howard University among 13 institutions to receive bobbleheads in first-ever HBCU Series
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com To celebrate Black History Month, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum released the first-ever HBCU Bobblehead Series, a collection of bobblehead mascots from 13 historically Black colleges and universities across the country (HBCUs). Both the Howard University (Howard) Bisons and the Morgan State University (Morgan) Bears […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Keeping the Black dollar in the Black community: five websites and apps that help you support Black businesses
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com According to a Nielsen report entitled, “The State of the African-American Consumer,” African Americans have a buying power of more than $1 trillion, which is nearly equivalent to the GDP of the 15th largest country in the world. However, dollars circulate just one time in the Black community […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Chase Business Banking mentorship program celebrates one year in Baltimore and two years in D.C.
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com JPMorgan Chase recently celebrated the anniversaries of the Chase Business Banking mentorship program in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. The three to six-month programs, which provide Black and Brown entrepreneurs with one-on-one coaching from senior business consultants, professional development opportunities, educational seminars and banking and credit solutions, have served […]
