Event details:
Lunch in Person - Active Member (paid dues) - Free
Lunch in Person - Non-Member / Inactive Member - $25.00
The Middle Branch Waterfront Master Plan is an ambitious effort to transform the Middle Branch Patapsco River into Baltimore’s next great waterfront, by improving community access to the waterfront with walking, running & bike trails, protecting the shoreline with new wetlands, expanding waterfront parklands and community amenities within an equitable and inclusive process for all adjacent communities. Join LAI at the recently opened new Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center for an update on the Plan’s progress from Brad Rodgers, Executive Director of South Baltimore Gateway Partnership.
Brad Rogers, JD, MEM, Executive Director, South Baltimore Gateway Partnership
Mr. Rogers possesses 30 years of experience with urban economic development, environmental policy, complex urban real estate projects, and leading mission-driven organizations. Areas of expertise include urban design and planning; parks and public space; strategic plans for communities and organizations; budgeting and fundraising; organizational management; and social enterprise.
Mr. Rogers is the founding director of the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, an innovative public authority funded by $8 million/year in casino revenues, driving community-based economic development in South Baltimore. In this role, his responsibilities include overseeing a Community Grants program that distributes $1 million/year to nonprofit and public sector partners; an Enhanced Services program that provides $2 million/year in enhancements to parks and public spaces; and a Transformational Projects program that spearheads large, highly catalytic projects. Working with the City of Baltimore and Parks & People, SBGP is transforming the Middle Branch of the Patapsco into Baltimore’s next great waterfront, with 11 miles of parks, trails, habitat restoration, resiliency features, and economic development.
Prior to joining South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, Mr. Rogers ran Advanced Placemaking, an economic development consulting practice specializing in complex urban real estate development and economic development strategy for struggling urban and rural communities. He also redeveloped a complex of abandoned historic buildings into the Eastern Shore Conservation Center, a sustainable mixed-use campus providing offices and apartments for nonprofits that won the 2016 Phoenix Award from Preservation Maryland. Earlier in his career, he led a family of social enterprise companies, including Baltimore Green Construction, Maryland’s largest and most experienced green building firm of the time. Cited in 2008 as “Best Eco-Friendly Construction Company” by Baltimore Magazine, this company led the design/build team for the Masonville Cove Environmental Education Center (Maryland’s first Near-Zero Net Energy building), built the Herring Run Watershed Center (Baltimore’s first LEED-NC Gold building), and was part of the design/build team for the Cottages at Greenwood (America’s first green, affordable, universally-accessible housing project).