Vibrant Spaces Podcast Ep 5 – The City of Baltimore: Downtown RISE & Radical Grassroots Collaboration
Welcome Dear Listeners…
… Step into the heart of urban transformation with the Story City Podcast: Vibrant Spaces, where we uncover the stories and strategies behind revitalizing city spaces to create thriving, connected communities. Join co-hosts Emily Craven and Tim Souza as they take you on a journey through Baltimore, a city harnessing collaboration and innovation to reshape its downtown into a vibrant, inclusive hub.
In this episode, we meet three exceptional women driving Baltimore’s transformation: Faith Leach, Shalonda Stokes, and Cassie Clemente. These dynamic leaders are spearheading the Downtown RISE initiative—a powerful, strategic action plan aimed at revitalizing Baltimore’s core through art, safety improvements, community collaboration, and long-term planning.
Discover how this trio is rethinking urban spaces, not only focusing on immediate, tangible improvements like public art and infrastructure upgrades, but also building a ten-year vision for a walkable, accessible, and thriving downtown. Their collaboration brings together local government, nonprofit organizations, and private sectors, creating a model of collective impact that is transforming the city’s future.
As they share their insights on radical community engagement and inclusive development, you’ll see how Baltimore’s approach, blending short-term wins with long-term vision, is reshaping both the physical and cultural landscape of the city. Whether you’re a city planner, a community advocate, or simply passionate about urban spaces, this episode offers a deep dive into how cities can evolve through intentional collaboration and innovative thinking.
Plug in and learn how Baltimore is setting a powerful example of urban renewal, proving that when a city comes together, the possibilities are endless. Vibrant Spaces is more than just a podcast—it’s a roadmap for building the cities of tomorrow.
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Show Notes
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Transcript of this Episode is here.
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Want to be considered for an episode? Email Emily and Tim with information on your city and initiatives and tell us, what do you do innovatively in your city?
Our Guests on Today’s Pod:
Faith Leach was appointed by Mayor Brandon Scott to serve as the City’s second, and first woman, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). In her role, Leach manages the day-to-day government operations across the entire city enterprise. Prior to this appointment, CAO Leach served as the Deputy Mayor of Equity, Health, and Human Services where she provided strategic direction to a portfolio of agencies at the forefront of quality-of-life issues. Before her tenure with the City of Baltimore, Leach served as Chief of Staff at the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation. In this capacity, she oversaw the Foundation’s commitment to invest $2B over five years to strengthen workforce systems, revitalize neighborhoods, grow small businesses, and improve the financial health of vulnerable communities across the globe. She has spent nearly two decades addressing the key drivers of economic inequality fuelling the racial wealth divide. Before joining JPMorgan Chase & Co., Leach served as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity under DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, standing up a first-of-its-kind government agency focused on revitalizing overlooked and underserved neighborhoods. Faith is an Ambassador with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Shelonda Stokes is the President of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and the Executive Director of the Downtown Management Authority. She leads these two multi-million-dollar organizations and since taking up this mantle Downtown Partnership has more than doubled the organization’s revenues and served as a catalyst for $50M commitment to the Central business District. Of particular pride is a new minority business program that fosters small business growth while increasing equitable occupancy in vacant storefronts. Titled, BOOST (Black-Owned and Occupied Storefront Tenancy), this initiative supports the long-term success of minority-owned, Baltimore-based businesses in Downtown storefronts. Prior to her role at Downtown Partnership, Shelonda spent twenty years as the President and CEO of greiBO, a full-service marketing and entertainment agency, that included clients like: State Farm, Hewlett Packard, Under Armour, Smithsonian, and Coca Cola. Shelonda is the recipient of more than 85 community and professional awards. As a respected thought-leader, she serves as a critical advisor to an elite list of Fortune 100 CEOs, elected officials, and other dignitaries.
Cassie Clemente serves as Vice President at Just Economy. At Just Economy, Cassie leads a variety of change management and stakeholder engagement initiatives, with a special focus on operationalization and implementation. Cassie leads many Baltimore City area projects including: Baltimore Together, the region’s strategic plan for equitable economic growth, Downtown RISE: Strategic Action Plan, and the Baltimore City Squeegee Collaborative. In all of this work she supports public and private partners, ensuring a collaborative approach to implementation with a strong focus on results and accountability. She is Maryland educated with a BA from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and an Executive MBA from the Sellinger School at Loyola University of Maryland.
About your hosts:
Emily Craven – Founder & CEO Story City: Emily has worked with cities for well over a decade to reimagine public space via storytelling and upskilling of local creators in digital activations of cities. Regularly driving 30k+ people through targeted city areas via adventure and whimsy, Emily has won national awards, been profiled in multiple magazines, and worked with international organizations like the Institute for the Future of the Book to bring content from the screen to the streets in innovative ways.
Tim Souza – Head of Community Activation at Story City: Tim has held many roles and titles over the years with organizations ranging from Microsoft to Thomson Reuters to TEDx, specializing in the building networks of partners to create larger impact than would have been possible individually. With both a passion for and a degree in Peace, Justice, Entrepreneurship and Technology Tim excitedly now tackles the challenges faced by local creatives, cities, and businesses to build strong vibrant communities of creators who add layers of play to the physical world around them via Story City’s innovative model.
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