GameChangers 2024

GameChangers 2024

Arts & Culture

Arts Every Day Prioritizes Equitable Access to the Arts in Baltimore City Schools

Executive director Julia Di Bussolo works to ensure students have all of the resources they need to be artists, leaders, advocates, makers, and supporters of the arts.

News & Community

Jennie Janssen is Expanding Access for Minorities in Aquarium and Zoo Science

The assistant curator at the National Aquarium co-founded a nonprofit that provides professional networks, career resources, and scholarship opportunities.

GameChangers

Meet the Brains Behind Baltimore’s Popular Anti-Animal-Abuse Campaign

Now an expanded nonprofit, Show Your Soft Side began as an awareness campaign in the Baltimore Public School system featuring posters of sports stars with their pets.

GameChangers

Angeles Evans’ “Very Purposeful Journey” to End Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence

As TurnAround’s senior manager of community engagement and training, Evans helps the community identify signs of abuse and support those affected.

Education & Family

Grief Support Programs at Roberta’s House Let Children Heal at Their Own Pace

The family grief support center offers peer groups, workshops, community outreach, and Camp Erin—the largest national summer bereavement program for youth.

Health & Wellness

Paul Bollinger Helps Individuals With Disabilities Experience the Joy of Sailing

The president and CEO of Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating—a lifelong boater who founded the Wounded Warrior Sailing Regatta in Annapolis—discusses the organization's work.

GameChangers

Amy Greensfelder Facilitates Free Mental Healthcare for Any Marylander in Need

The executive director for Pro Bono Counseling oversees a team that matches residents with limited or no health insurance to an appropriate counselor for free ongoing therapy sessions.

Sports

Volo Kids Foundation Emphasizes the Power of Play

The now-national organization has grown from a small free flag football league in Herring Run to over 45,000 kids playing multiple sports under the guidance of almost 10,000 volunteers.

Health & Wellness

The Holistic Life Foundation is Changing Lives, One Yoga Breath at a Time

For more than 20 years, the co-founders have introduced local youth and adults to mindfulness practices that help them cope with stress, anger, and emotional traumas.

Health & Wellness

Family Photographer Jillian Mills Provides Keepsakes for the Bereaved

While Mills acknowledges that her black-and-white bereavement photos—for families who lost a newborn or experienced a stillbirth—are not for every family, for some, it can be incredibly healing.

Sports

Get to Know the GameChanger: Brett Hollander

How the Orioles broadcaster is supporting kids who are struggling with dyslexia.

Arts & Culture

‘SNL’ Actress Ego Nwodim Brings Improv to Baltimore Schoolchildren

The Baltimore County native aims to help local youth explore and embrace the possibilities. The “yes and” of life.

GameChangers

Heather Warnken Advocates for Marginalized Baltimoreans Harmed by the System

The executive director of UBalt's Center for Criminal Justice Reform addresses inequities to ultimately make communities safer.

News & Community

Get to Know the GameChanger: Hyesook Chung

The president of the Baltimore Civic Fund spearheads everyday services like pothole repair and snow cleanup, as well as larger projects like regional recycling efforts and bridging the digital divide.

GameChangers

Teniola Akinwuntan is Removing Barriers for Women Facing Adversity

Her Catonsville nonprofit, Women of Valor, provides food, housing, child-care assistance, trauma-informed support, and workforce training for victims of domestic violence.