Baltimore Business Journal Features 2024 Leader in Diversity Barbara Quaye

June 13, 2024

The Baltimore Business Journal published a Q & A with Barbara Quaye, one of AAEDC’s Business Development Directors, after she received an award for being named a 2024 Greater Baltimore Leader in Diversity by the publication: Leaders in Diversity 2024: Barbara Quaye, Anne Arundel Economic Development.

Quaye was one of the ten 2024 Leaders who received their awards at a breakfast and “Building Minority Business” panel discussion hosted by the BBJ on June 13.

Quaye first learned of the recognition in April, at the Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA)’s Annual Meeting, and the entire AAEDC office enjoyed helping her celebrate the recognition by reading and presenting her with a framed print of her 499-word nomination a few days later.

As does the Q & A, much of the writeup focused on how Barbara has worked – and works! – on a daily basis to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the Anne Arundel County business community by managing AAEDC’s ever-growing Inclusive Ventures Program (IVP).

An excerpt from the nomination reads:

“Beyond business development, Barbara plays a central role in creating new opportunities for traditionally underserved populations of business owners, and thereby creating a more inclusive economy, by managing IVP… Barbara is always working to make each and every cohort more diverse than the last, including helping spearhead the first-ever Spanish Language version of IVP, which will take place in June 2024.”

Here is the full Q & A, which focuses on why working to create a more inclusive economy is so important to Quaye:

Barbara Quaye’s greatest motivator is the ability to make a real impact in the minority business community.

As business development director of Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp., she is able to collaborate with county, regional and state partners to make programs and resources more accessible to business owners from underrepresented backgrounds.

“Working directly with these business owners to help them succeed and grow is my passion,” she said. “I take great pride in providing education and support that not only helps create generational wealth and a better future for individuals, but also generates jobs and tax revenue that improve the quality of life for minority communities as a whole.”

Quaye has only been with the organization for two years, but the agency said her impact has been great during that time.

She spearheaded the Anne Arundel Economic Development’s Inclusive Ventures Program (IVP), a business accelerator program aimed at supporting small, minority-owned, woman-owned and veteran-owned businesses in the county. The program, which launched in January 2021, initially offered two cohorts per year. It expanded to five in 2023 and then another four in 2024.

She said the expansion involved actively promoting the program to a range of business owners, reviewing and interviewing hundreds of applicants, and providing ongoing support to those who graduate.

To date, the 11 completed IVP cohorts consist of 123 graduates. A breakdown shows participants included 104 women and 19 men; 65 Black people; six Asian Americans; 43 Caucasians; one Native American; and eight Hispanics/Latinos, she said.

Getting businesspeople to accept diversity, equity and inclusion goals isn’t easy, she acknowledges. But she thinks it’s a matter of exposure and education.

“I think that we can get more Greater Baltimore executives to buy into keeping DEI at the forefront by continuing to have the conversation — whether in our offices, at events, or in the media,” Quaye said. “One effective approach could be to regularly host roundtable discussions with diverse business owners and leaders. This would not only raise awareness, but also help drive actual improvements in the DEI space.”

See images from the BBJ’s June 13 breakfast on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Click here to learn more about IVP.

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