about us

Staff and Members

ABOUT US

Make Space for All.

Baltimore is America’s original maker city. From America’s first railroad to the world’s largest steel mill, we’ve built everything from locomotives to Liberty ships. But manufacturing has changed, and the factories that once fueled our city are gone. Open Works was founded in 2016 to rebuild Baltimore’s manufacturing economy from the grassroots up — one maker at a time! Now one of America’s largest nonprofit makerspaces, we support 118 jobs and work with over 1,000 young people a year through educational programs. We are here to support you wherever you are on your maker journey — learning new skills, launching new businesses, or building new relationships in Baltimore’s largest creative community.

I think what Open Works gets right & understands very naturally is that it takes a village to raise a visionary.

— Allison Brown, entrepreneur and Open Works Member

Member Directory

Our Staff

Laura Cohen

Site Director

Will Holman

Executive Director

Ana María Economou

Director of Education

Riggs Marietta

Shop Manager

Tiersa Sullivan

HR Manager

Kenneth Bland

Membership Manager

Josh Russakis

Program Manager

Zach Adams

Contract Services Manager

AB Brackett

Site Supervisor

Our Board

Linda Gilmore, Chair
Manager | Enterprise Product & Specialty Division, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

Lauren Kelly-Washington, Vice Chair
Chief Operating Officer, The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation

Pam Gray, Treasurer
SB and Company Public Accountants, Partner

Matthew Youssef, Secretary
Niles, Barton & Wilmer, LLP, Partner

Stephanie Chin, Director
Hutch Program Manager at Fearless

Susan DuMont, Director
Attorney. Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

Danielle Laurenceau Gooden, Director
External Affairs Manager – Baltimore City at Baltimore Gas & Electric at Baltimore Gas & Electric

Marianna Pappas Paterakis
Director of Network, Conscious Venture Partners

Charlotte Phillips, Director
Executive Director, Banker, J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Leon Pinkett, Director
Executive Director, Baltimore Arts Realty Corp. (BARCO)

Evan Richardson
Assistant Dean, Morgan State University – School of Architecture and Planning

Audrey Van de Castle
Sr. Director, Operational Excellence Technology, Stanley Black & Decker

Dr. Ron Williams, Director
Coppin State University College of Business, Professor and Dean Emeritus

financials

Measuring our Impact

Open Works is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission dedicated to educational and economic development in Baltimore City. Every year, we contribute $9.5M to Maryland’s economy and $5.5M to Baltimore’s economy.

In 2019, Coppin State University published the first economic impact report ever conducted on a makerspace in the United States. Download the report to learn more how making can transform cities.

Check out our Guidestar profile to learn more about our governance, financial filings, and social impact. Download our annual reports: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023 to learn more about our work.

In 2020, Open Works spearheaded an emergency collaborative manufacturing project called Makers Unite to address critical shortages of PPE. Learn more about it here.

Link to guidestar

Our Funders

2023: Capacity Building: Aaron Straus and Lillie Straus Foundation, Bunting Family Foundation, Knott Foundation; EnterpRISE Business Competition: Abell Foundation Small Grants Program, M&T Bank Foundation, MD Department of Commerce, PNC Bank Foundation; West Side Pilot Program: Baltimore City DHCD, MD DHCD Operating Assistance Grant, West North Avenue Development Authority (WNADA); Solar Station Project: Baltimore Civic Fund; General Operating Support: Baltimore Office of Promotion and Arts, Goldseker Foundation, MD State Arts Council, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, T. Rowe Price Foundation, 353 individual donors; Education: John J. Leidy Foundation, Johns Hopkins Neighborhood Fund, Transamerica; Capital (in-kind): Craftsman Tools

2022: Aaron Straus and Lillie Straus Foundation; Baltimore Homecoming (GiveGab); Blaustein Philanthropic Group; Cindy Paradies/Larry Moscow; DHCD: Public Safety Grant; Fearless Tech; France-Merrick Foundation; HBO/We Own This City; Maryland Department of Commerce; Ratcliffe Foundation; Robert W. Deutsch Foundation; T. Rowe Price Foundation

2021: Aaron Straus and Lillie Straus Foundation; Abell Foundation;Baltimore Civic Fund;Baltimore Development Corporation;BGE;Blaustein Philanthropic Group;Bright Funds;BRNI (Baltimore Regional Neighborhoods Initiative, administered by the Central Baltimore Partnership);C.L. McCoy Framing;Central Baltimore Partnership;The Estate of Florence Deutsch;Goldseker Foundation; Hackerman Foundation;Howe; Ted and Elizabeth;Kentfields Foundation;M&T Bank Foundation;Maryland Department of Commerce;Maryland State Arts Council;National Aquarium;PNC Bank Foundation;Robert W. Deutsch Foundation;ShopBot Tools;Southway Builders; Stanley Black and Decker;T. Rowe Price Foundation;Walther Charitable Fund

2019: Abell Foundation; Anonymous; Baltimore Development Corporation; Baltimore Summer Funding Collaborative; Blaustein Philanthropic Group; C.L. McCoy Framing; David and Patrice Cromwell; France-Merrick Foundation; Goldseker Foundation; Hackerman Foundation; Herbert Bearman Foundation; Innovation Works; Jim and Mimi Piper Fund; Linda Hutchinson; Maryland Department of Commerce; Paul Rucker; Robert W. Deustch Foundation; Southway Builders; Stanley Black and Decker; Wells Fargo Foundation; Whiting Turner

2018: Abell Foundation; Annie E. Casey Foundation; Baltimore City Foundation; Baltimore Development Corporation; Best Buy; Blaustein Philanthropic Group; Bunting Family Foundation; Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation; Jim and Mimi Piper Fund; Maryland Department of Commerce; PNC Bank Foundation; Robert W. Deutsch Foundation; Rouse Family Foundation; Stanley Black and Decker; Vernon Wright Family Foundation; Whiting Turner

2017: Abell Foundation; Baltimore Development Corporation; Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation; Etsy: JHU Neighborhood Initiative; Kauffman Foundation; Lockhart Vaughn Foundation; M&T Bank Foundation; Mayor’s Office OST; Youth Fund; PNC Bank Foundation; Robert W. Deutsch Foundation; T. Rowe Price Foundation; TEDCO; Wells Fargo

Your gift to Open Works is a gift to Baltimore

Donate Today!

Make it Happen at Open Works

Looking for something else? Open Works has all the tools and resources you need to bring an idea to life, learn a new skill, find a space for your new business and so much more.