STAFF
Laurie Schwartz | President
Laurie has dedicated her career to helping make Baltimore an even better place to live and work. In the early 1980s, Laurie helped the city and area businesses start Downtown Partnership. She then served as its first President for over fifteen years. Following a stint at City Hall with Mayor O’Malley, Laurie worked as an independent consultant for nine years. During this time, she helped Waterfront property owners, Waterfront area attractions, and the City of Baltimore start Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, Inc. In 2010, Laurie agreed to join the organization full-time as its Executive Director. In her spare time, Laurie paints and shows her artwork. She is also an avid swimmer, and is training for her first harbor swim from Fells Point to Tidepoint.
Contact: 443.743.3307 | Laurie@WaterfrontPartnership.org
Eric Souza | Director of Operations
Prior to working with Business Improvement Districts, Eric spent eight years in various management roles in the restaurant industry, including positions as an Executive Chef and General Manager in Baltimore. He is a graduate of the Baltimore International College and has a degree in Hospitality Management. Eric joined the Waterfront Partnership in November 2009 when he was hired by Block By Block as the Operations Manager. While in Baltimore, Eric experienced a five year tenure in that position before being promoted to the Regional Vice President of the Mid Atlantic. Eric quickly jumped at the opportunity to once again work in Baltimore with the organization because of his deep passion for the city. He currently resides in Locust Point with his wife and two daughters.
Contact: 443.743.3308 x3208 | Erics@WaterfrontPartnership.org
Adam Lindquist | Director, Healthy Harbor Initiative
Adam joined the Waterfront Partnership team in 2011. He received his Masters of Urban Planning from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his experience includes working for the Water Resource Division of the Maryland Department of Planning. He is a passionate conservationist, and is involved with protecting and restoring the rivers and streams of his community. He enjoys helping to lead Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative, and looks forward to one day swimming in the harbor. In his spare time, he enjoys writing and recording his own music and teaching his wife how to play the guitar.
Contact: 443.743.3309 | Adam@WaterfrontPartnership.org
Amber Chavis | Senior Accountant
Amber has a dynamic past experience in accounting, with nearly ten years in the field. Before joining the Waterfront Partnership, she held accounting positions at RailAmerica, Inc. and Medical Staffing Network, Inc. Most recently, she worked at Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, first as an accounting tech and then advancing to the assistant finance director. As assistant finance director, she was responsible for managing six finance staff members, preparing monthly financial reports for leadership, and coordinating the annual budget for high-totaling grants, along with many other duties. Amber holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Finance degree from East Carolina University.
Contact: 443.743.3310 | Amber@WaterfrontPartnership.org
Leanna Wetmore | Manager of Neighborhood Programs
Leanna joined the Waterfront Partnership team in 2014 as the Community Coordinator. She has been a community organizer in Baltimore City for seven years, using her creative spirit to inspire residents and build leadership in some of Baltimore’s most charming neighborhoods. She received her BFA from MICA, and is a Maryland Master Gardener. She looks forward to working with neighborhoods upstream of the harbor to reduce litter by changing the behavior of litter bugs and effecting system changes within city government. In her spare time, you can find Leanna making art under festival tents, growing vegetables in her backyard, volunteering for awesome causes, or walking her dog in one of Baltimore’s beautiful parks.
Contact: 410.561.7308 | Leanna@WaterfrontPartnership.org
Kelly Louise Barton | Marketing Manager
Kelly has been working alongside Waterfront Partnership since 2014, and has since joined Waterfront Partnership as a full-time employee in January 2020. Kelly has over a decade of graphic design, illustration, and marketing experience, previously as the Managing Editor of What Weekly Magazine as well as running her own design and marketing company. Originally from New Jersey, she graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism and Media Studies. In her spare time Kelly loves to illustrate, experiment in the kitchen, catch live music, ice skate and roller skate, and hang with her pitbull, Mako.
Contact: 443-992-7741 | Kelly@waterfrontpartnership.org
Chelsea Anspach | Communications Manager, Healthy Harbor Initiative
Chelsea joined Waterfront Partnership in July 2020. She grew up in southern Maryland right between the Chesapeake Bay and the Patuxent River. She graduated from Gettysburg College with a major in Studio Art. She has worked at various cultural institutions over the last seven years including the Annmarie Sculpture Garden, ArtJamz, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Her experiences at each institution were all about public engagement through events and social media. She has taught children about compost and worms and put-on large-scale painting events in the center of Washington, DC. A consummate artist, her illustrations have been published in a variety of magazines. Chelsea is responsible for running all social media platforms for the Waterfront Partnership including Mr. and Prof. Trash Wheel. She loves using creative storytelling to engage and create connections within a community.
Contact: 443.743.3308 x3312 | Chelsea@WaterfrontPartnership.org
Micah Miles, Ph.D. | Staff Scientist, Healthy Harbor Program Manager
Micah joined the Waterfront Partnership in 2021 after completing her doctoral degree at the University of Georgia in Integrative Conservation. Micah is an urban wildlife ecologist with experience studying urban reptiles and amphibians and the communities that seek to conserve these taxa. She is a certified Associate Ecologist and Associate Wildlife Biologist with a passion for inspiring others to experience the natural world around them, from wherever they are, exactly as they are. Micah is responsible for coordinating water conservation initiatives in the inner harbor, such as water quality sampling, habitat restoration projects, and environmental education and outreach.
Contact: Micah@waterfrontpartnership.org
Lorenzo Mack-Johnson | Chesapeake Conservation corp Intern
Lorenzo joined the Waterfront Partnership team through the Chesapeake Conservation Corp. He is attending the University of Baltimore to obtain a B.A. in Environmental Sustainability. Lorenzo obtained his Maryland Master Naturalist certification in July 2021 and plans to use his knowledge to explore the world around him.
Contact: Lorenzo@waterfrontpartnership.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Michael Beatty
Beatty Development Group
James Bond
Living Classrooms Foundation
Matthew Garbark
Department of Public Works
Michael Cunningham
Constellation Energy
Brian Dean
T. Rowe Price
Terry Donahue
Waterfront Marriott Hotel
Rachel Duncan
Federal Hill Resident
Donald C. Fry
Greater Baltimore Committee
Marco Greenberg
Consultant
Michael Hankin
Brown Advisory
Sarah Harrison
Morgan Stanley
Frank Lance
Parks and People Foundation
Mark Conway
Councilman District 4
Tim O’Donald, Board Chair
Harbor East Management
Mark Pollak
Ballard Spahr LLP
Mark Potter
Maryland Science Center
John Quinn
BGE
Dale Schmidt
National Aquarium
Steve Sharkey
Department of Transportation
Zed Smith
Cordish Company
Traceé Strum-Gilliam
PRR, Inc.
Dan Taylor
Baltimore Development Corporation
Carmera Thomas-Wilhite
The Conservation Fund
Ira Weinstein, Treasurer
Cohn Reznick LLP
Eric Costello
Councilman District 11
WATERFRONT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Michael Beatty
Beatty Development
James Bond
Living Classrooms Foundation
David Bookhout
Avalon Bay
Terry Donahue
Waterfront Marriott Hotel
Susan Flanigan
Resident
Gail Furman
Max’s on Broadway
Tim O’Donald, Board Chair
Harbor East Management Group
Mark Potter
Maryland Science Center
Julian Demiri
Rusty Scupper
Dale Schmidt
National Aquarium
Doug Schmidt
Workshop Development
Zed Smith
Cordish Company
Gerben Van Dorpe
Harbor East Management Group
Eric Costello
Councilman District 11