Archive

2010 OSI Community Fellow Meshelle Foreman Shields will be performing a one-woman show in which she portrays five characters, written by Shields and directed by Rain Pryor, at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater in New York on July 26. More information here. Forman Shields, who performs under the moniker “Meshelle, The Indie Mom of […]

Last Friday, members of Open Society Institute’s 2018 cohort of Community Fellows gathered at the Goodnow Community Center in East Baltimore for their monthly opportunity to share ideas, progress, and resources. The first presenter this month was Amy Tenney (pictured with Fellow Ausar Daniels), who collaborated with the Goodnow Center and other organizations to establish […]

Last week, Wide Angle Youth Media, started by 2001 Open Society Community Fellow, Gin Ferrara, teamed up with Soccer Without Borders Baltimore, founded by 2011 Fellow Jill Pardini, for this video profiling Baltimore players and how the organization helps immigrants and refugees overcome the barriers they face, both academically and socially.

In March, Open Society Institute reported that the United States District Court for the District of Maryland ruled in favor of a transgender student in a suit filed by OSI-supported FreeState Justice (formerly FreeState Legal), the ACLU, and the ACLU of Maryland. The court ruled that students’ right to use the restroom and locker rooms […]

Last week, Open Society Institute-Baltimore hosted four visitors from the Open Society European Policy Institute (OSEPI), another organization within Open Society Foundations. OSEPI, based in Brussels, works to advocate on policy issues in Europe, including human rights, equality and discrimination, and transparency and accountability. Our colleagues were particularly interested to learn more about our “inside-outside” […]

Last month the Baltimore Sun profiled Baltimore City Schools’ Re-Engagement Center, which was created with Open Society Institute funding. The center, now in its third year, works to get students back into school after they have dropped out or been incarcerated or otherwise derailed by violence or trauma. The Sun reports that last year, about 540 […]

On Thursday, the New York Times Editorial Board weighed in on rising drug prices, citing the experience of Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen in trying to broaden distribution of the life-saving overdose reversal drug Naloxone. In Baltimore, the health commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen, uses a need-based algorithm to decide which emergency rooms, needle-exchange vans, E.M.T.s […]

On Tuesday, the Baltimore City School Board unanimously passed a new policy for school police. Such a policy has been under discussion for three years. Open Society Institute grantees in the Coalition to Reform School Discipline have been advocating for such a policy for years, although they were disappointed that their push for a youth-friendly […]

Recently, Scott Nolen, director of Open Society Institute’s Addiction and Health Equity program, appeared on “The Baltimore Guys” podcast to talk about the work AHE does, the importance of the language used around addiction, healthcare, and reducing stigma. Listen to the entire podcast here.

On Wednesday night, Open Society Institute-Baltimore held the first of three events in its 20th Anniversary Speaker Series. The keynote conversation, “Bold Thinking on Racial Justice in America,” featured Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, talking to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and OSI Advisory Board member Taylor Branch. (See […]