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The Formula on the Board (COLLEGE PARK, MD – October 2, 2026) – Friday night, in a doctoral classroom at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, a formula went up on the screen that looked like hieroglyphics. Upside-down A’s. Backward E’s. Letters with little letters hanging off them. I had never seen it before. But before I could fear it, Dr. Balaji Padmanabhan had already explained it. It made perfect sense. Not “I’ll figure it out later” sense. Perfect sense, on the first pass. And sitting there, a member of the DBA Class of ’28, I realized I had felt that exact click once before. It was 1981, and I was a struggling 10th grader at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. Poly, 1981 I came to Poly from Lemmel, where I was used to being at the top of the class. Poly’s A course was a different animal. I was not doing well. I was barely making it. Then I broke my ankle, my fibula, and missed six weeks of school. In the A-course, six weeks is an eternity. I felt weak. I couldn’t hang with the other neighborhood kids anymore. I had to stay home and do homework every single day just to keep my head above water. So I spent that summer in summer school for Algebra 2, Trig, and Physics. I didn’t work a job that summer. And my teacher was Estella Ingram, known today as Estella Ingram Levy. We were up at Walbrook Sr. High. Ms. Ingram was a superior educator. Her work would take her to the White House, and she advised the Baltimore City school system. She was also the first woman I ever met on my own, outside my father’s world, who had performed an autopsy. She is still my friend today. What Poly made complicated, she made simple. I = E/R: current equals voltage divided by resistance. Boom, boom, boom. That’s it. She rebuilt my confidence one equation at a time. She told me she had seen it before. Poly students kept landing in her summer school, and they were smart kids. We were smart, she said. We just weren’t being taught properly. Then she told me something I’ll never forget. Poly wasn’t designed to nurture me. Poly was designed to weed me out. Our story didn’t end that summer. I went on to finish high school at Dunbar, Class of 1983. And who turned out to be my biology teacher there? Estella Ingram. What the Formula Says The slide was titled “A Collective Intelligence Conjecture.” Here it is: Now in plain English, the way Dr. Padmanabhan made it land: For every problem, there is some way to design a team of humans and AI that, on average, does at least as well as the best humans alone or the best AI alone. That’s it. The upside-down A means “for every.” The backward E means “there exists.” The D’s are designs: how the work is set up, who does what,…

The Sandtown-Winchester community leader joins Elev8 Baltimore as Director of ENOUGH@21217 and West Baltimore Engagement. (BALTIMORE – September 28, 2026) – Tracey Malone is, quite frankly,…

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-JLlUXuchE&t=7s The 55th Eastern Regional Conference brought more than a sea of red to Baltimore. It brought economic, cultural, social,…

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Paid college internship offers a $5,000 stipend and hands-on experience in Baltimore City Schools (BALTIMORE – September 15, 2026) – Elev8 Baltimore is seeking dynamic college students who are ready to inspire, support, and empower Baltimore’s young people. Bring your talents, gifts, and passion to students through Elev8 Baltimore’s afterschool programs at participating Baltimore City Public Schools. Interns will gain valuable hands-on experience while working alongside experienced professionals, strengthening their résumés and making a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families. The paid internship includes a $5,000 stipend for 100 program service days. The application deadline is October…

(BALTIMORE – September 15, 2026) – Hard-working. Conscientious. Fearless. Productive. The latest cohort of Joe Manns Black Wall Street honorees represents some of the excellence that continues to emerge from the City of Baltimore. Catherine B. Orange, Timmeeka Pettus, Joan Pratt, Nicole Earle, Simon Edwards, E. R. Shipp, and Tarase Whetstone will be honored on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Black Wall Street COLIN’S. Each is a leader in their own right. They understand the need to support Black media and why Black media is still necessary. They understand the importance of telling our stories, documenting…

(BALTIMORE, MD – September 7, 2026) — More than 600 guests gathered Saturday for the Inaugural Regional Director’s Reception celebrating Dr. Tonja L. Ringgold, the newly installed 36th North Atlantic Regional Director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, and to hear her vision for the historic region she will lead. Ringgold used the inaugural reception to introduce members of her R.I.S.E. Administration (“raising impact through service”) and outline priorities for the North Atlantic Region, which stretches from Maryland and Washington, D.C., through New England. The new role is the latest chapter in a life and career deeply connected to Maryland.…