By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
The Baltimore Development Corp. (BDC) and community stakeholders gathered at the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company Conference Center in Mondawmin on May 7 for a spring update on the city’s comprehensive economic development strategy, Baltimore Together.
During the gathering, BDC president and CEO Colin Tarbert held a fireside chat with Harry Coker Jr., secretary of Maryland’s Department of Commerce. The pair tackled growth opportunities and challenges for Baltimore’s economic future and statewide initiatives to boost Maryland’s broader economy.
Coker began by highlighting the fiscal challenges Maryland faces.
“For many years now, it’s been clear that the state of Maryland is not seeing the sustained economic growth that we are capable of and that our residents deserve,” said Coker. “As Governor Moore has noted multiple times, between 2017 and 2022, the national economy grew by 11 percent, while Maryland’s economy grew by just over 3 percent. That’s not sustainable.”
Coker explained that the reason for the state’s stagnant growth is that it hasn’t had a plan to leverage its assets, including leading research universities, federal agencies, the biotechnology sector and an educated, diverse workforce.
Maryland has identified three “lighthouse” industries to drive economic growth: technology, aerospace and life sciences. Though the state has a strategic focus in these areas, Coker stressed that it will not take away from support for other industries or small, local businesses.
“We are still committed to economic inclusion. We’ll still be actively looking for opportunities to support small-, minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses, but we are very confident that there will be a multiplier effect in the growth of those three ‘lighthouse’ sectors that will increase economic growth across our state,” said Coker. “The Moore-Miller administration’s economic development vision shares a lot with the Baltimore Together strategy. Notably, our initial goals are to build a more equitable economy and receive world-class leadership in key industry sectors.”
Baltimore Together was adopted by the city’s Planning Commission in 2021. The five-year plan is a public-private initiative with four key strategies: working together, investing in people and places, building from strength and competing to succeed. Aside from achieving premier industry leadership and an equitable economy, its goals include creating a stronger workforce, fostering an innovation and small business ecosystem and growing Baltimore’s population.
The city has already begun to make headway on the strategy. BDC, in partnership with Bloomberg Associates, has launched the Baltimore Economic Dashboard, giving community members real-time updates and data on progress that’s been made.
One success at the top of 2025 was the ribbon-cutting of 4MLK, a $180-million hub for life sciences situated near the University of Maryland BioPark, University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Another win Tarbet highlighted was the Baltimore Business Assistance and Support for Equity (BASE) Network, which deployed more than $50 million in post-pandemic recovery grants to Black-, Indigenous-, and people of color-owned small businesses.
“The Baltimore Together plan isn’t a BDC plan. It’s a city-wide plan and, in some ways, a regional plan for our partners,” said Tarbert. “We view it as a shared responsibility, but we also want to make sure that it’s a shared success.”
Baltimore and Maryland are centering equity in their economic development strategies amid escalating attacks on equity, diversity and inclusion from the 47th president. Tarbert and Coker argued that embedding equity in economic plans is not just socially responsible—it’s a smart business strategy.
“Equity is not giving anyone an unfair advantage,” said Coker. “It’s leveling the playing field.”
He used the example of education. In classrooms, students have different needs and learning styles, and teachers adapt to them. Much like educators, states should tailor resources to meet the diverse needs of their communities.
“With equity, it’s recognizing that we can deliver exposure to things, like people, networks and opportunities,” added Coker. “Equity is not designed to disadvantage anyone.”
Critical to Maryland and Baltimore’s economic strategies is readying a workforce to support the region’s key industries. This includes tapping into young people.
To help meet the demand, Coker said the Maryland Department of Labor is expanding registered apprenticeship opportunities across the state. During these experiences, participants earn money while receiving one-on-one training from a skilled craftsperson. The average annual starting salary for apprenticeship graduates is $50,000, according to the labor department.
Coker said he also has a personal focus in shifting Maryland’s employers away from rigid college degree requirements and toward evaluating candidates based on skills and practical knowledge.
“A lot of us don’t have the resources, time, money or energy to go to college, but we still might have the skill set and knowledge necessary to do a job,” said Coker. “I want to eliminate traditional job requirements that are not relevant and eliminate far too much of the talent that’s pursuing positions not just in state government but across the economy.”
