Has Venture for America worked in Baltimore?

Baltimore is near the top among VFA cities for attracting fellows and keeping them here, Embry said.

“As far as I know, Baltimore — somewhat surprising to people because of its challenging reputation of recent years — has recruited highly and retained highly,” Embry said.

Russakis has said before that as many as two-thirds of its fellows stayed in the area after their fellowships ended.

He said Baltimore, Philadelphia and Detroit are the program’s “big alumni gathering cities.” Russakis plans events and programs for VFA fellows so they get to know the city and form connections.

Baltimore fellows have gone on to start nine companies here, according to VFA, including HiveLend, which connects beekeepers with farmers who need their crops pollinated, and Zest Tea, which sells high-caffeine-content teas.

One of the alumni companies touted on the VFA website — a company called What’s Mapnin’ — no longer has an active website or social media accounts.

In an interview with the website Vox this summer, Yang acknowledged that VFA is not on track to meet his goal of creating 100,000 jobs by 2025. VFA officials told Vox that 3,500 jobs have been created.

Yet Yang defended his ambitious goal.

“In order for organizations to have a very high ceiling, you need to set the goal very, very aggressively,” Yang told Vox.

Russakis said VFA doesn’t have data on how many jobs might have been created in Baltimore specifically. But he believes the program’s fellows are making “a lasting impact to the community.”