Our Mission

Maryland Business Roundtable for Education is the catalyst for business, government and education

to drive high student achievement that ensures a competitive future workforce for a world-class economy.

As our school leaders

think deeply on ways to

ensure education keeps

pace with our rapidly

evolving economy, MBRT

sustains its focus on the shared benefits of business and education partnerships

as they continue to remain and grow in relevance. Thanks to your support,

MBRT has been able to innovate and expand its programming in order to reach

more Maryland students, and to have a greater impact on their achievement

and options for college, career, and life. We share in

this report our 2017 successes as we look ahead to a

promising 2018. Brian Dulay Executive Director

MBRT Roundtable Winter 2018 http://www.mbrt.org Page 2

2017 STUDENT

IMPACT MBRT programs continue to garner support from Maryland employers, and their employees, to reach middle and

high school students throughout the state. Students impacted through both the Maryland Scholars Speakers

Bureau and STEM Specialists in the Classroom programs are better informed on their decisions, begin to ignite

their imagination and are inspired to pursue and achieve their goals.

To underscore MBRT’s mission and value to stakeholders in the school-to-career pipeline, the 2017 Annual Meeting

theme stated succinctly, Partnerships Matter! With 117 attendees, representing business, education, government

and the community, the meeting was a richly diverse cross-section of

key Maryland stakeholders, all coming together with a common goal of

increasing student academic achievement and college and career

prospects. Federal, state and local perspectives were shared and

discussed through lively remarks by Congressman C.A. Dutch

Ruppersberger, Delegate Maggie McIntosh and Dr. Sonja B.

Santelises, Baltimore City Schools CEO. Attendees provided positive

feedback on these speakers, as well as our industry panelists Michael

Davenport (BGE), Melissa Sandlin (Northrop Grumman) and Regina

Wilbourn (Verizon). Student ambassadors included sixth graders from

the University of Maryland, Baltimore CURE Scholars program, as well

as high school senior and certified CTE student Xavier P. of Frederick

Douglass High School.

“There is a difference when you have an adult, who can show the relevance between what you are learning and

the real world… We say to young people, ‘Trust us that this has application. Trust us that this will actually turn in to

something that can make you a lifelong career and ultimately make you a lifelong learner.’ ”

- Dr. Santelises, CEO

Baltimore City Public Schools

Deon Viergutz, MBRT Board Member, speaks

with UMB CURE Scholars.

70,000+ students reached

20,845 in person

55,000 through print resource

1,220 volunteer hours

824 presentation hours

396 training hours

724 classrooms

92 schools

18 districts

MBRT ANNUAL MEETING: 26 YEARS

MBRT Roundtable Winter 2018 http://www.mbrt.org Page 3

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND GROWTH

For more information about the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education,

please visit our website at www.mbrt.org or call 410.788.0333

Thanks to grant support from board company IBM, MBRT’s strategic steering committee worked alongside a

variety of stakeholders to gather input and complete a strategic planning process in 2017, making clear the

mission and vision included on the cover of this report and the following critical goals.

2017 was also a year of strategic growth for MBRT,

with the team acquiring an additional staff member

and coordinators for implementation of the Next

Generation Scholars grants awarded through the

Maryland State Department of Education. The addition

of MBRT’s inaugural chief education officer, Rudy

Ruiz, has enabled MBRT to provide a balanced

approach to outreach and engagement with business

and education partners. As Ruiz begins to take on the

majority of MBRT’s education portfolio, Chief Strategy

Officer Nona Carroll has begun focusing more

exclusively on MBRT’s business relationships, as well

as successfully launching and managing the NGS

grant programs in Allegany, Caroline, and Wicomico

counties in 2017, with additional NGS awards and

implementation in Dorchester and Kent counties in

2018. While still an extremely efficient operation, MBRT’s core team under Executive Director Brian Dulay,

continues to adapt and deploy relevant, engaging resources, thanks to Chief Technology and Operating Officer

Chris Thorn and Executive Assistant Joyce Smith.

INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

Maryland stands at the threshold of significant education policy making in 2018, as legislators look forward to

reviewing the final recommendations of the ‘Kirwan Commission,’ the Maryland Commission on Innovation and

Excellence in Education, set to expire on May 31. Following a series of public hearings, the commission recently

shared its draft recommendations, based on over a year’s worth of assessing the state’s education funding formula

and policies to strengthen teaching and learning.

The commission’s draft recommendations are indeed innovative and guided by the 9 Building Blocks of a World-

Class State Education System, a framework developed by the National Center on Education and the Economy

based on over 25 years of research. This focus is on reforms needed to ensure Maryland graduates are

competitive with those from highly successful systems such as Massachusetts, Finland, Switzerland, Singapore,

Shanghai and Ontario.

There are clearly several strategic focus areas with potential to help strengthen the college and career readiness of

Maryland’s public school students, as well as Maryland’s workforce pipeline. The commission will spend the coming

weeks finalizing cost projections for its recommendations, which will be released following the upcoming legislative

session. MBRT looks forward to continuing engagement with our partners and policymakers as the commission’s

recommendations are finalized, reviewed and shaped into policy and action.

2018—2020 Strategic Plan Focus Areas

MBRT Roundtable Winter 2018 http://www.mbrt.org Page 4

Board of Directors David M. Velazquez, Chair

Pepco Holdings, Inc.

Nicole A. Funk, Vice Chair

Booz Allen Hamilton

Alexander G. Núñez

BGE

Regina Schofield

Battelle

Sandra Kurtinitis, Ph.D.

Community College of

Baltimore Co.

Board Member to be Named

IBM Corporation

Ronald R. Peterson

Johns Hopkins Health System

Doreen Harwood

Leidos

Deon Viergutz

Lockheed Martin

Mark Caylor

Northrop Grumman Corp.

William G. Irby

Textron Systems

Freeman Hrabowski, III, Ph.D.

UMBC

Dr. Robert L. Caret

University System of Maryland

Robert S. Marshall

Whisker Labs

Chair Emeriti Norman R. Augustine

Edward F. Mitchell

Raymond A. “Chip” Mason

James F. Pitts

Gloria A. Flach

MBRT Staff Brian Dulay, Executive Director

Nona Carroll, Chief Strategy Officer

Chris Thorn, Chief Technology &

Operations Officer

Rudy Ruiz, Chief Education Officer

Joyce Smith, Programs Assistant

A M E R I C A N T R A D I N G & P R O D U C T I O N C O R P O R A T I O N • A N N E A R U N D E L C O U N T Y

E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T • B A L T I M O R E G A S & E L E C T R I C • B A N K O F A M E R I C A •

B A T T E L L E • B O O Z A L L E N H A M I L T O N • C L A R K C O N S T R U C T I O N G R O U P , L L C •

C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E O F B A L T I M O R E C O U N T Y • C O R P O R A T E O F F I C E P R O P E R T I E S

T R U S T • E A S T E R N S A V I N G S B A N K • G O V E R N O R ’ S W O R K F O R C E I N V E S T M E N T

B O A R D • G R E A T E R B A L T I M O R E M E D I C A L C E N T E R • I B M C O R P O R A T I O N • J O H N S

H O P K I N S H E A L T H S Y S T E M • J O H N S H O P K I N S U N I V E R S I T Y • K P M G • L A U R E A T E

E D U C A T I O N , I N C . • L E G G M A S O N , I N C . • L E I D O S • L O C K H E E D M A R T I N

C O R P O R A T I O N • L O Y O L A U N I V E R S I T Y M A R Y L A N D • M & T B A N K C O R P O R A T I O N •

M A R Y L A N D C H A M B E R O F C O M M E R C E • M A R Y L A N D I N D E P E N D E N T C O L L E G E &

U N I V E R S I T Y A S S O C . • M A R Y L A N D P U B L I C T E L E V I S I O N • M A R Y L A N D S T A T E

D E P A R T M E N T O F E D U C A T I O N • M C C O R M I C K & C O M P A N Y , I N C . • N A T I O N A L

S E C U R I T Y A G E N C Y • N O R T H R O P G R U M M A N C O R P O R A T I O N • N O T R E D A M E O F

M A R Y L A N D U N I V E R S I T Y • P E P C O H O L D I N G S • P N C B A N K • R E G I O N A L

M A N A G E M E N T , I N C . • S A L I S B U R Y U N I V E R S I T Y • S P A C E T E L E S C O P E S C I E N C E

I N S T I T U T E • S T E V E N S O N U N I V E R S I T Y • T E X T R O N S Y S T E M S • T O W S O N

U N I V E R S I T Y • U N I V E R S I T Y O F B A L T I M O R E • U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A R Y L A N D M E D I C A L

S Y S T E M • U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A R Y L A N D , B A L T I M O R E • U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A R Y L A N D ,

B A L T I M O R E C O U N T Y • U N I V E R S I T Y S Y S T E M O F M A R Y L A N D • W H I S K E R L A B S •

W H I T I N G - T U R N E R C O N T R A C T I N G C O .

FUNDERS