By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com The U.S. Navy recently commissioned an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in honor of the late Frank E. Petersen, who was the first Black man to become a general and an aviator in the United States Marine Corps. When he retired from the Marines […]
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
Good Green Grant Program awards funds to nonprofits creating opportunity in Black and Brown communities impacted by the War on Drugs
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.co Green Thumb Industries, a national cannabis retailer and consumer packaged goods company, recently opened applications for its Good Green Grant Program, which awards unrestricted funding to nonprofit organizations that create change in education, employment and expungement for underserved communities. The program is open […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Clark Construction Group’s Strategic Partnership Program bolsters capacity for small contractors
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Clark Construction Group (Clark) has long been considered one of the largest, most experienced general contractors in the country. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the firm works in 12 markets and is known for its intricate and complex projects, such as Oriole Park at […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
The White Dress Project to host EmPOWERment Experience in D.C. for women suffering from uterine fibroids
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member msayles@afro.com The White Dress Project (TWDP), a nonprofit organization that raises global awareness about the uterine fibroid epidemic, on Friday will kick off its EmPOWERment Experience in Washington, D.C., a weekend-long event commemorating National Fibroid Awareness Month. The celebration is themed, “Freedom to Blossom,” […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Rich in Color Cosmetics provides products for women with ‘melanin-rich’ skin
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Shalena Maxfield Edwards spent 21 years in the cosmetic industry as an executive at companies like Bobbi Brown Cosmetics and Juice Beauty before leaving the corporate world to launch her own makeup brand, Rich in Color Cosmetics, in 2020. Her journey to entrepreneurship […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Black Girls Love Math teaches culturally-conscious curriculum to address racial and gender inequality in mathematics
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Only about 2 percent of all science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers are held by Black women. Philadelphia native Atiyah Harmon is on a mission to exponentially increase this number with her organization, Black Girls Love Math (BGLM), which helps Black girls […]
Posted inBaltimore News
President Freeman Hrabowski prepares for retirement after turning UMBC into the top producer of Black M.D., Ph.D. graduates
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com President Freeman Hrabowski III has led the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), since 1992. After decades of revolutionary leadership, the giant of higher education announced his retirement. In spite of his profound adoration for the school and its students, Hrabowski is ready […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Concentric Educational Solutions puts students at the center of its work, bridging the gap between school and home
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afrocom David Heiber founded Concentric Educational Solutions in 2010 to bridge the gap between home and the classroom. The word “concentric” means having a common center, and under Heiber’s direction, students are at the center of all of the company’s efforts. Its mission is […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Baltimore social change organization CLLCTIVLY welcomes first chief operating officer
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com CLLCTIVLY, a Baltimore social change organization focused on racial equity, narrative change, social connectedness and resource mobilization, recently welcomed its first-ever chief operating officer, Krystle Starvis. Starvis is no stranger to the nonprofit or the city of Baltimore. She was born and raised […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Digital health platform She Matters supports Black women experiencing postpartum comorbidities and trains healthcare providers to be culturally competent
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com While working as a teacher in Newark, New Jersey Jade Kearney got pregnant with her first daughter. As a Black woman, Kearney was acutely concerned about her labor because of the long history of poor maternal health outcomes. Black women are three times […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Black women are two to three times more likely to have uterine fibroids—here’s how to manage and treat them
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com In the U.S., 26 million women aged 15 to 50 have uterine fibroids, or benign growths of the uterus, and more than half of those women will experience associated symptoms and health risks. For African American women, the lifetime incidence of fibroids is […]
Posted inBUSINESS
JPMorgan Chase invests $150,000 into D.C. and Baltimore summer youth employment programs
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com JPMorgan Chase recently announced a new $20 million commitment over five years to support summer youth employment programs across the country, two of which are located in the DMV area. This new effort expands on the firm’s previous summer youth employment investments. Serve […]