Danielle Torain to lead Open Society Institute-Baltimore
The Open Society Foundations are pleased to announce the appointment of Danielle Torain as the new director of the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, effective Jan. 21, 2020.
A proud Baltimore native, Torain brings a decade’s experience in the public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors to the job. A graduate of the University of Richmond and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, Torain worked in the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, leading a citywide initiative to strengthen systems of support for incarcerated youth, and worked on local jobs programs with the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development. She was senior director of strategy and development at the Center for Urban Families, and spent four years at the Annie E. Casey Foundations’ Baltimore Civic Site, leading its place-based strategies in workforce development and economic inclusion, community capacity building and resident leadership. For the past several years, she has worked as an organizational development consultant, helping to advise and build capacity for social justice nonprofit groups.
In the aftermath of Baltimore’s 2015 uprising following the death of Freddie Gray, Torain helped launch several initiatives aimed at connecting emerging activists with the philanthropic resources needed to carry out their work. In 2016, while with Baltimore Civic Site, Torain helped plan OSI-Baltimore’s Solutions Summit and led a panel discussion about job and economic development.
“I am incredibly excited to welcome Danielle to the Open Society family,” said Patrick Gaspard, president of the foundations. “She embodies the promise of Baltimore’s next generation of leadership and the power of community. Open Society has made significant strides in the 20 years since we first opened our doors in Baltimore—dramatically reducing school suspensions through reform of disciplinary rules, increasing community influence on the policies of the Baltimore Police Department, working with the state to introduce reforms that helped reduce the prison population, and fostering the growth and development of a new cadre of social entrepreneurs. Under Danielle’s leadership, I foresee great progress in meeting the challenges of the city, and taking our philanthropic work there to the next level.”
Click here to see the full announcement.
Source: OSI Baltimore