The Baltimore Sun’s Business and Civic Hall of Fame 2020
The Baltimore Sun is pleased to announce the 2020 class of inductees into our Business and Civic Hall of Fame. We will honor these 13 men and women at an event at The Center Club on June 4 and in a special section to be published Sunday, June 7. This year’s honorees are:
Marin Alsop became the first woman to lead a major U.S. orchestra when she assumed the role of music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2007. Since then, she founded a music program for city youth, while leading other orchestras throughout the world. This coming season is set to be her last as the BSO’s music director.
H. Furlong Baldwin began his career counting checks in a back office of the Mercantile-Safe Deposit and Trust Co., eventually rising to become Mercantile’s CEO in 1976, with some of the best results in the industry during his quarter-century run. He then went on to chair the Nasdaq Stock Market
A humanitarian and counselor-educator, Thelma Daley is the national director of Women in the NAACP, vice chair of The National Council of Negro Women Inc. and 16th president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. She broke gender and racial barriers when she became president of The American Counseling Association and has long been a voice for equity and excellence.
Brian J. Gibbons is chairman of the board and CEO of Greenberg Gibbons developers and responsible for transforming parts of Maryland with significant projects, including the redevelopment of Hunt Valley Towne Centre, Foundry Row and The Shops at Kenilworth.
Michael D. Hankin is president and CEO of investment firm Brown Advisory and chair of the Baltimore Healthy Harbor Project, which challenged the city to make the Inner Harbor swimmable and fishable. He is a trustee of the Johns Hopkins University and a director for Associated Black Charities.
Carla Hayden is the first woman and first African American librarian of Congress. She was appointed to the position in 2016 by President Barack Obama, after serving for 23 years as the beloved CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which she helped modernize.
A leader in education and advisor to President Barack Obama, Freeman A. Hrabowski III has served as president of UMBC for nearly 30 years, transforming the institution into an innovation powerhouse committed to diversifying the field of STEM graduates through the Meyerhoff Scholars Program he co-founded.
Gary Kelly is chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, which transformed the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Today, the low cost airline accounts for roughly 70% of the airport’s passenger volume, supports 30,000 jobs in Maryland and stimulated more than $6 billion in economic activity in the region in 2017 alone.
Neil Meltzer is president and CEO of LifeBridge Health, leading the organization’s effort to become an integrated health system. He serves on the boards of the Greater Baltimore Committee and Everyman Theatre, among others, and is a former national chairman of the American Heart Association.
Ozzie Newsome, a former Cleveland Browns tight end and general manager for the Ravens, has already been inducted into two other halls of fame: The College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His knack for putting a team together has left a lasting impact on the Ravens and Maryland.
Mary Ann Scully is CEO of Howard Bank and chair of its board of directors. She was named one of 25 Women to Watch in Banking by the American Banker in 2016, serves on multiple boards throughout Maryland and has served as a member of the Maryland Economic Development and Business Climate Commission.