In December 2024, Building African American Minds (better known locally as BAAM) cut the ribbon on an impressive new Academic Center on Jowite Street in Easton, marking a monumental achievement that has been 20 years in the making.
The sleek, modern building stands to be a game changer for the Mid-Shore’s African American community.
We sat down recently with Executive Director Dina Daly to talk about this extension of the BAAM Campus and the world of possibilities it opens for the local nonprofit.
Q. The Academic Center represents a significant milestone for BAAM. How does the Academic Center fit into the overall strategic vision for Building African American Minds?
A. The Academic Center completes the “BAAM Campus.” From the beginning, we envisioned having a school for our youth and community. The Academic Center is beyond a school. It is more of a community center that youth and the overall community can turn to for educational, recreational, and social learning.
Q. How does this new facility change what’s possible for your organization’s mission and programming?
A. BAAM will be able to serve so many more young people and adults with this new facility. We will also be seen as an employer and economic development agent. With our commercial kitchen, we can partner with small business owners who are looking for a commercial kitchen to meet or expand on their catering services. Already we have a business owner request the use of our commercial kitchen for a catering event. We see BAAM partnering with higher education institutions that will be able to offer college courses in our academic center making it possible for our community to achieve their educational goals.
Q. With this expanded footprint, what new academic programs or services are you most excited to introduce in the next 12 to 18 months?
A. We are excited to have an ESports/Media Center space, and we are working on developing and providing programs such as podcasting, coding, and gaming in this space. Additionally, we are looking to develop programming such as DJ class and other music courses in our new Music Room.
In the BAAM Library, we have a committee working on book selections as well as programming that will be held here. We will be working to bring in a well-known author to kick off programming, and we hope to host author’s luncheons and events that will educate our community about local African American leaders and history. Our focus will be on telling the story of African American experiences from a historical perspective and on sharing African American culture, past and present.
Q. How do you see the Academic Center strengthening BAAM’s relationships with local schools and other educational partners in Talbot County?
A. We have an excellent relationship with the Talbot County Public Schools, particularly Easton Elementary School, where the majority of our students come from and are close neighbors. We also have Polaris Village Academy (PVA) in our Academic Center, and we see them as a “sister” agency. PVA is still growing in numbers, and we see their students also attending BAAM’s after-school and summer programming.
In addition, we partner with organizations like the Talbot County Department of Tourism and Economic Development, the University of Maryland Medical System at Shore Regional Health, and Intro to Careers in Healthcare (ITCH) for workforce development initiatives. The Talbot County Health Department and the Qlarant Foundation are also strong partners for wellness initiatives.
Further, we will be able to utilize our art room and music room by offering activities for youth and adult through partnerships with organizations that offer these programs. The possibilities are endless!
Q. The Academic Center was a major investment in Easton’s African American community. What feedback have you received from parents and community leaders since the opening?
A. Our parents and the community have been extremely supportive and impressed with the new Academic Center. As the building was being built, students and parents were seeing it happen and were quite excited. We are being approached on a regular basis by folks in the community seeking help or looking for employment opportunities in our workforce development program. They see BAAM as a place where they can get lots of their needs met. We are also getting lots of partnership inquiries, bringing in new partners, and hearing about new opportunities for partnerships.
Q. How does the new Academic Center complement your existing athletic facility, and how do you see these two pieces working together?
A. We call both the “BAAM Campus.” We envision the Academic Center as a place where our students, parents, and adults can participate in programming that is educational, while the Athletic Center will offer sports-related programming. For example, a parent can attend a parenting class or financial literacy class/course at the Academic Center, and not have to worry about child care as their youth can be at the Athletic Center engaged in sports programming in a safe nurturing environment.
Q. Looking ahead five years, what metrics or outcomes would indicate to you that the Academic Center has been successful in advancing BAAM’s mission?
A. Some metrics would include an increase in the number of programs offered overall by BAAM, the number of participants who attend those programs, and outcomes related to the participants improving their quality of life in the areas of academics, health and wellness, and workforce development.
Q. The new facility must create additional operational costs. What strategies are you implementing to ensure long-term financial sustainability?
A. We knew that adding the Academic Center would increase our operational costs, but we realized the importance of having both facilities to offer opportunities, expand programming, and better serve the community. We are currently working with Compass Group to help us develop strategies to increase our fundraising capacity.
Our board has been very engaged and supportive and understands the need to be engaged in all that we do, in particular our fundraising activities. One of our goals is to create an endowment fund and to build it to a level where the endowment funds can support programs and operations, if needed. We are currently seeking donors who are interested in helping us with this effort.
Q. Has the expanded space increased your need for quality staff and volunteers? If so, how does one get involved with your organization?
A. The short answer is yes. We knew that once the Academic Center became operational that we would need administrative support staff. We hired Tyniece Savoy as our receptionist and administrative support staff. In the coming months, we will assess our other support staff needs and develop a plan for meeting those additional staffing needs.
We utilize our volunteer program and seek volunteers who share our mission to assist us with our programmatic needs. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact us at 443-496-3034 or email Dr. James Bell at jbell@baaminc.org. All volunteers must complete a background check.
Q. You seemingly have come a long way in a short amount of time, but this has been a 20-year journey for you and your husband Derick. What was your vision for BAAM when you started 20 years ago and how has it changed over the years? Where do you hope to be in the next 20 years?
A. When we started, we wanted to be able to help African American males as they were—and continue to be—the group of students who need the most assistance academically and socially. As a start-up nonprofit, we knew that we had limited resources and needed to focus on a group that demonstrated the greatest need and then build our programming and resources to help the entire family and community.
At our first strategic planning session, we worked with Linda Walls who volunteered her time and talent as a consultant to help us develop this plan. Her help was invaluable to us. We knew we wanted to build a school with an after-school component to ensure that our students would receive the wraparound services to help them succeed. We knew this was a long-term vision. So, we also developed short-term plans. The Athletic Center was not in our first discussions, but we soon realized that we needed something more to bring older youth to our programming.
At that point, Derick was the executive director and Mr. Bill Ryan had joined the Board and became the president of the board. With Mr. Ryan’s experience with a youth program in Philly, he said that if we built a gym, we would draw the older youth through basketball. This has certainly been the result. Additionally, the Athletic Center has become a hub for community gatherings and events.
With the Academic Center now completed, we will develop new programming and expand on the existing programs that we offer. We will also seek new partnerships to help BAAM offer more educational programming for youth and adults in our community.
The “BAAM Model” continues to expand beyond Talbot County. We already serve some youth and adults from other Mid-Shore counties and have been asked for many years to bring our services to those counties.
Q. This article is scheduled to come out in Black History Month. What is your best advice for a person of color who is looking to achieve success in life and in business?
A. Whenever a person comes to see me for guidance or advice, I tell them that it’s ok to dream big but to make sure that you then break it down into small achievable goals. Once you have achieved those small steps, take time to celebrate them.
With anything in life, there are also times when things do not go as planned. Take time to also learn from these bends in the road. Often, we get upset and down as we see this as failures. I always take time to process what happened and then re-adjust and keep pushing forward. There are so many people and resources available, and I tell folks to not be afraid to ask for help.
More About BAAM, Inc.
BAAM’s mission is to empower at risk minorities to instill a sense of belonging, success, and potential. BAAM fulfills its mission through a growing menu of scholarships, afterschool, summer camp, sports, and community programming.
You can subscribe to BAAM’s newsletter here, or learn more by visiting their website here.
About Talbot County Department of Economic Development and Tourism
The Talbot County Department of Economic Development and Tourism’s mission is to enhance and promote a business-friendly environment for current and prospective enterprises and to advocate for policies that support and strengthen the economic vitality of Talbot County. The department’s vision for Talbot County is built on the principles of strong communities, empowered businesses, and innovative solutions.
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