For many, Baltimore conjures images of a gritty city plagued with crime and violence—images you’ve seen from news coverage of the April 2015 uprising or on HBO’s The Wire. But Baltimore is much more. It’s a city that’s always been home to artists, innovators, activists, and impassioned public servants. And the Baltimore Corps Fellowship is proving that Baltimore’s future is shining bright.

Founded in 2013, Baltimore Corps recruits young professionals, both Baltimore natives and transplants with a variety of backgrounds, to work directly with local leaders enacting change in the city. Its mission: to impact the community by helping individuals build skills, prepare for leadership opportunities, and grow relationships with leaders and collaborators—both locally and beyond. The program started with 10 fellows and today supports an annual cohort of 50, placing fellows in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in areas like health care, the arts, business development, and youth programming.

Fagan Harris, founder and director of the program, started Baltimore Corps after witnessing how local change-makers were finding solutions to problems like high school dropout rates and addiction. “At Baltimore Corps we recognize the power of people. That’s why we invest in them,” he says. “If we can leverage the incredible people who are here and recruit [those] who want to be here, we can do big things together.

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