BALTIMORE—Three powerhouses in the arenas of business, philanthropy and history and literature—Eddie Brown, Ed Bernard, and Taylor Branch—have joined the board of directors of the Open Society Institute-Baltimore.
Bernard and Brown both have distinguished themselves in business, public service and philanthropy and will bring their extensive finance backgrounds and connections to OSI. Bernard serves as vice chairman of the board of directors of the T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and is chairman of the T. Rowe Price mutual funds. Brown is founder and president of Baltimore-based Brown Capital Management, one of the country’s oldest African-American-owned investment management firms. Branch is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the trilogy “America in the King Years.”
“It’s really an affirmation of OSI’s mission that we are continuing to attract people of such stature to our board,” said William Clarke III, chair of the OSI board and former executive vice president of research at Campbell & Company, Inc. “They’re joining us because they know OSI is here to stay and believe its work is worthy of their time and commitment. OSI engages distinguished, civic-minded community members to guide its work, and these three leaders are perfect for that role.”
Bernard has worked at T. Rowe Price for more than two decades. In addition to his position at T. Rowe Price, he chairs the board of directors of the Investment Company Institute, the national trade association for the mutual fund industry. He also serves on the board of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore. He and his wife have been generous local philanthropic donors.
Brown was a vice president and portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price Associates prior to starting his own firm in 1983. In 1998, the U.S. Secretary of Labor appointed Brown to the ERISA Advisory Council, and in 1999 Governor Parris Glendening appointed him to the Maryland Economic Development Commission. He has also served on the board of the East Baltimore Development Corporation. In 2002, Brown and his family created the Turning the Corner Achievement Program, an unprecedented educational initiative for African-American middle school students in Baltimore. Along with his wife and daughters, Brown has donated generously to many Baltimore institutions and charities though the Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Foundation.
Branch is best known for his three-part history of the United States during the explosive civil rights era. His book, “Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63,” won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 1988. In 1999, President Clinton awarded Branch the National Humanities Medal. Branch served as the former president’s secret diarist, taping 79 interviews with President Clinton during his two terms in office. In 2009, he published “The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President.” Branch is a recipient of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
“These three men are dynamic intellectual, business and philanthropic leaders in our city,” said Diana Morris, director of OSI-Baltimore. “We are honored to have them join our board and commit to our mission of solving the biggest challenges facing the city. Without a doubt, they will improve our ability to work strategically, aggressively and in a nuanced manner to put policies and practices in place that will make Baltimore and the region healthier, more inclusive, and richer in opportunity.”
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OSI-Baltimore was started in 1998 by philanthropist George Soros as a laboratory to better understand and solve the most intractable problems facing urban America. OSI-Baltimore is a private operating foundation that focuses its work exclusively on the root causes of three intertwined problems–drug addiction, an over-reliance on incarceration and the obstacles that keep youth from succeeding inside and outside of the classroom. OSI-Baltimore also sponsors the Baltimore Community Fellows, now over 100 members strong, who work to create opportunity and bring justice to people in the city’s most underserved neighborhoods.