Community Partner : Impact Hub Baltimore Intern : Ryan Aghamohammadi Site Supervisor : Irene Bantigue
What is Impact Hub Baltimore ? We support and connect a community of Baltimore changemakers by providing an inspiring workspace and innovative programming to scale and sustain their social impact . Together , we are building an innovative local economy that advances equity and opportunity .
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Visioned and authored a five part narrative storytelling series centered on Impact Hub ’ s work , trajectory , and place in the Baltimore ecosystem Audited and implemented longstanding technical additions to the Impact Hub website Interviewed staff , Impact Hub members , and office tenants for a storytelling series and Orientation video Designed presentation materials for Impact Hub ’ s presentation on their partnership with GoDaddy Developed a potential sponsorship media kit to monetize features in the newsletter , social media
We ’ re living in strange times . Connecting with others in authentic ways is difficult . Maintaining those relationships and developing working partnerships is even harder . Over the past eight weeks , I ’ ve met — really met — more new people than I have in the past year . Being at Impact Hub has helped me recognize that having a space devoted to fostering connections and one ’ s own ventures is so valuable . Because my work focused on authoring a storytelling series , I ’ ve spent many , many hours intensely thinking about space , people , and the communities we navigate .
Through such focus , I ’ ve connected back to myself and the work I love doing ; fluid , creative , dynamic , true . I ’ ve gone on hikes , visited the planetarium , interviewed poets and digital archivists and social entrepreneurs , and conversed with as many people as I could . As my work evolved this summer , so did I — writing about entrepreneurship for the first time , developing my own understanding of ecosystem work , having more open , intentional conversations with those around me . Ecosystem work is a constant practice of trust , accountability , and collaboration ; it is always emerging . Interning at Impact Hub positioned me in a constant state of emergence , too : in thought , in relationship , in practice . I ’ ve developed my understanding of social ecosystems and sustainable work through conversation and authoring stories . Spending time thinking high-level about the incredible , transformative work social entrepreneurs do in Baltimore has propelled me to think about my own work and what I can do with my community . I also want to take this moment to thank my supervisor and mentor , Irene Bantigue , who was instrumental in not only pushing my work , but also in catalyzing my growth . Our intentional , authentic conversations stewarded me in the direction I always knew I wanted to go in .
The poet in me always looks to see what the world can show me . I love web-weaving between the senses and emotions , old histories and new magic . Finding something new is fascinating to be sure , but discovering something that ’ s always been there , hidden from my own view , is what really excites me . Impact Hub had everything to show me about authentic relationship-building founded on reciprocation and trust , virtues I ’ ve always known and privileged , but were reframed and developed this summer . I ’ m looking forward to carrying these insights forward into my life and , above all , experiencing new stories .