ABOUT US
Founding & Evolution
Bridges was founded in 1993 as a four-week summer enrichment program on the campus of The St. Paul’s Schools in Baltimore County, MD. It initially served 18 elementary school students from a Title I School in northeast Baltimore City. Students were supported by a paid seasonal staff and a handful of high school-aged volunteers from St. Paul’s. Bridges has expanded significantly since that time.
Today, the three Bridges program locations – Bridges at The St. Paul’s Schools, Bridges at Gilman, and Bridges at Bryn Mawr – work year-round with 382 Baltimore City youth ages 9-23 and engage 285 independent school student volunteers per year. The Bridges program model has evolved to support students for 13 years, beginning after 3rd grade on through college and into the start of students’ careers.
How We Operate
Bridges Baltimore is an independent 501c3 committed to sustaining and growing Bridges’ impact in Baltimore. It supports existing program locations, identifies and helps to launch new program locations, enhances the program model, raises funds for all of Bridges programs and activities, identifies candidates for staff openings, provides technical assistance to program locations, recruits students for program locations, and manages marketing and communications functions.
Bridges at The St. Paul’s Schools (est. 1993), Bridges at Gilman School (est. 2014), and Bridges at The Bryn Mawr School (est. 2022) operate as programs of their respective school communities. The St. Paul’s Schools, Gilman School, and The Bryn Mawr School are responsible for operations pertaining to their program locations, including facilities, technology, volunteer recruitment, and more. Each school also makes an annual financial investment in Bridges Baltimore.
The Need & Our Approach
Bridges works to address two needs in the Baltimore metro-area: (1) investing in the full success of the Baltimore City youth who participate in Bridges and (2) building a more inclusive and equitable society.
Investing in the Success of Baltimore City Youth from Title I Elementary Schools
The Need: Children in Baltimore’s Title I Elementary Schools live in communities of limited access and opportunity. This creates obstacles to long-term academic achievement and career pathways with financial security. Historically, 90%+ of students in Baltimore’s public schools do not attain a college degree by age 24.
Our Approach: Bridges partners with students age 9 to age 23 and their families. The program model is designed to help students find consistent academic success from elementary through high school, graduate from high school and college, and find fulfilling career paths that lead to financial security.
Building a More Inclusive and Equitable Society
The Need: The Baltimore metro area remains geographically segregated along lines of race and socio economics, creating a barrier to relationship building, and limiting understanding and progress on long-standing issues of unequal access and opportunity in the City.
Our Approach: Bridges’ program model creates a space for independent school students of all backgrounds to build caring relationships with Baltimore City School students, learn about issues of unequal access and opportunity in Baltimore, and be part of building a more inclusive and equitable society.
Expanding our Impact
Over the last 10 years, Bridges has:
- Expanded from 1 to 3 program locations: Bridges at The St. Paul’s Schools (est. 1993), Bridges at Gilman School (est. 2014), and Bridges at The Bryn Mawr School (est. 2022)
- Grown into a 13-year long program serving 382 City youth
- Tripled independent school volunteer participants to about 285 per year
- Grown its budget to $2.1mm and increased staff capacity to focus on program quality, organizational sustainability, and impact expansion
Looking ahead, Bridges will:
- Grow to 8 program locations serving 1,400 Baltimore City youth ages 9-23 and 800 independent school volunteers per year
- Continue to enhance and strengthen its 13-year program system for Baltimore City youth
- Continue to enhance independent school volunteer training and education around issues of access and opportunity in Baltimore
- Invest in its operations infrastructure to ensure that growth and quality go hand-in-hand
People
Bridges Baltimore Board of Trustees
Ellen Bernard, Community Volunteer
Flynn Burch, Under Armour – Director of Global Philanthropy
Vickie Cosby, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield – S.V.P. Medicaid and Medicare Programs
Scott David, T. Rowe Price Associates – Former Head of U.S. Investment Services
Nnamdi Etoh, Rock Springs Capital – CFO
Doug Greenstein, T. Rowe Price Associates – Head of Institutional Business Development
Carim Khouzami, BGE – CEO
Josh Levinson, Charm City Run – Owner
Paul F. McBride, Black & Decker – Former Corporate Officer
Mark Neumann, 510 Ventures, LLC (Current Chair)
Rob Paymer, Bridges – Executive Director, Bridges (Staff)
Phil Pine, Capital Educators – Program Director
Dr. Bryan D. Powell, St. Paul’s Pre and Lower School – Head of School
Lynn Rauch, Community Volunteer (Founding Chair)
Roger Schulman, Fund for Educational Excellence – President & CEO
Jim Smith, RBC Wealth Management – Sr. Vice President (Former Chair)
Henry Smyth, Gilman School – Headmaster
Bridges Baltimore Staff
Chloe Baier
Natalie Cesario
Rachel Duden
Kevin Eskridge
Anita Hilson
Jenna Kotarides
Jessica Kuhn
Jonathan Lindsay
Kelsey McLaurin
Rob Paymer
Jillian Pinkard
Bridges at The St. Paul’s Schools Staff
Victoria Brown
Ysem Brown
Barrett Ozga
Patrick Harhai
Jenni Ruiz
Bridges at Gilman School Staff
Ghani Raines
Annelise Royles
Yena You
Bridges Bryn Mawr School Staff
Julia Dimaio
Hannah O'Malley
Supporters & Partners
Bridges has 140+ supporters consisting of individuals, foundations, and corporations that underwrite Bridges’ $2.1mm+ annual budget. We also have several key partners who enhance programs and operations and provide in-kind resources that keep Bridges cost-efficient. In turn, partnering with Bridges allows organizations and individuals to deepen their impact in Baltimore. To learn more about our supporters and partners, please visit the Supporters & Partners page.