Governor Wes Moore joined state officials, technology leaders, university executives, community developers and nonprofit organizations today at Baltimore’s historic Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center—also the home of STEM City Baltimore—to announce the expansion of the Maryland Community Compass.
Among those attending was Gregory Fowler, Ph.D., president of the University of Maryland Global Campus, along with members of the UMGC leadership team. Their presence was especially significant following the formalization of UMGC’s partnership with AI NEXTGEN AMERICA as its Premier and Founding Academic Partner.
The free Community Compass platform is designed to place powerful development data and funding information directly into the hands of Maryland communities.
Francesca Ioffreda
The expanded platform brings together neighborhood economic data, property records, zoning information, place-based incentives and more than 2,600 funding opportunities. It will allow community development corporations, nonprofit organizations, small developers, entrepreneurs and government agencies to evaluate potential projects without relying on costly private databases or spending months searching through disconnected public records.
“Progress that benefits some is not progress,” Governor Moore told the audience. “In order for progress to be real, it has to be democratized.”
The governor said large corporations have long had access to sophisticated data and analytics that help them determine where to invest and what to build. Smaller organizations working in historically underserved communities have not always had those same tools.
The Maryland Community Compass is intended to help close that gap.
From Small-Business Resource to Community Development Platform
Maryland initially launched the Compass platform in December 2025 with a focus on helping small-business owners understand their local markets, identify funding resources and connect with technical-assistance providers.
More than 15,000 people have used the platform during its first nine months. State agencies have also used Compass data to help direct nearly $14 million in public funding toward high-need communities.
The expanded version goes considerably further. Users can now examine economic and development trends across more than 1,400 Maryland neighborhoods, search individual parcels, explore zoning requirements and identify grants, loans, tax credits, rebates and other financial resources.
Maryland Chief Innovation Officer Francesca Ioffreda said the platform was developed in response to what the state heard directly from business owners, nonprofit organizations, developers and community leaders.
“Access to this information shouldn’t depend on the size of your operating budget or whether you can afford a private data subscription,” Ioffreda said.
Appointed as Maryland’s first chief innovation officer, Ioffreda leads the Maryland State Innovation Team created by Governor Moore in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies. She credited the innovation team, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and Anthropic with helping move the Community Compass from concept to implementation.
Gregory Fowler, Ph.D
Artificial Intelligence in the Public Interest
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind Claude, supported the development and expansion of the platform. That partnership helped Maryland increase the Compass funding database tenfold and make thousands of previously scattered resources easier to search.
Shad Ahmed, Anthropic’s economic mobility lead, described the project as an example of artificial intelligence being used for direct public benefit.
“When evaluating a site takes an afternoon instead of a season, different projects become possible,” Ahmed said.
A childcare provider who could previously afford to study only one location may now compare several communities. A small developer who might have rejected a property because of the cost of conducting an initial feasibility study can more quickly determine whether a project is viable. A nonprofit organization can identify funding programs that may have existed for years but were difficult to locate.
The importance of the platform is not simply the amount of data it contains. Its real value will be measured by what communities can accomplish with that information—new businesses, affordable housing, childcare centers, grocery stores, community facilities, jobs and opportunities to build generational wealth.
The Home of STEM City Baltimore
The location of today’s announcement carried special significance.
The Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center is the home of STEM City Baltimore, a partnership involving Career Communications Group, the Foundation for Educational Development and Beloved Community Services Corporation. Since the center opened, STEM City Baltimore has provided artificial intelligence training and technology-focused educational programming for Baltimore’s young people and the surrounding community.
STEM City Baltimore connects the physical programs offered at the center with the broader STEM City USA digital ecosystem. It creates a place where students, families, educators, employers and community organizations can gain access to emerging technologies, workforce training, career exploration and opportunities in the rapidly changing AI economy.
Holding the Community Compass announcement at this location brought together two complementary visions. Community Compass gives residents and developers access to the information required to identify and build local opportunities. STEM City Baltimore helps prepare residents with the knowledge and skills needed to participate in those opportunities.
Together, they demonstrate how place-based development, technology access, education and workforce preparation can operate as part of one community strategy.
The center itself is the former Public School 103, the segregated elementary school attended by Justice Thurgood Marshall from 1914 to 1921.
Dr. Alvin C. Hathaway Sr., CEO of Beloved Community Services Corporation, led the effort to restore the historic building after it had been vacant for approximately 20 years and damaged by fire. The organization assembled a $15 million capital package for the restoration and invested an additional $1 million in exterior improvements.
Hathaway said successful community development begins with understanding the history and significance of a place.
“Justice Thurgood Marshall should be to Baltimore what the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is to Atlanta,” Hathaway said.
Today, the restored center is a hub for education, technology, entrepreneurship, workforce development and community advancement. It provides a powerful example of how a historic property can be preserved while being given a new purpose that prepares the surrounding community for the future.
Maryland Senator Antonio Hayes said communities such as West Baltimore have extraordinary potential, but transforming vacant and underused properties requires more than vision.
“It requires information, coordination, investment and giving the people already doing the work the tools they need to move projects forward,” Hayes said.
Gregory Fowler, Ph.D
Gregory Fowler, Ph.D and Tyrone "Doc T" Taborn
UMGC and AI NEXTGEN AMERICA
The participation of President Fowler and other UMGC leaders highlighted another important development in Maryland’s emerging artificial intelligence and workforce ecosystem.
Career Communications Group, the Foundation for Educational Development and UMGC recently formalized a partnership making the university the Premier and Founding Academic Partner of AI NEXTGEN AMERICA, scheduled for October 9–10, 2026, at the Baltimore Convention Center.
The partnership connects UMGC’s academic expertise and extensive experience serving adult learners, members of the military, veterans and working professionals with CCG’s community reach, workforce-development programs, STEM City USA platform and Ascend Knowledge on Demand learning model.
AI NEXTGEN AMERICA is being developed as a public-facing national conference where students, workers, educators, veterans, families, employers and community leaders can understand how artificial intelligence will affect their careers, institutions and everyday lives.
The presence of UMGC’s president at the Community Compass announcement reinforced the importance of connecting technological innovation with education and workforce preparation. Data can help communities identify where development and investment should occur. Education and training ensure that residents are prepared to participate in the economic opportunities that follow.
A Model for AI for the People
Career Communications Group Chairman and CEO Tyrone D. Taborn attended the announcement and was personally recognized by Governor Moore during his remarks.
“Tyrone, I see you, brother. I see you,” the governor said while recognizing the community, technology and nonprofit leaders helping to move Baltimore forward.
The Community Compass reflects the broader “AI for the People” philosophy behind STEM City Baltimore, STEM City USA, the Ascend Knowledge on Demand learning platform and AI NEXTGEN AMERICA.
That philosophy begins with a straightforward principle: Artificial intelligence should not be limited to major corporations, technology companies and highly trained specialists. It must also help ordinary people find opportunities, develop skills, build businesses and strengthen their communities.
Community Compass demonstrates what becomes possible when government, technology companies, universities, community organizations and residents work together. Maryland is not simply discussing the future of artificial intelligence. It is beginning to build practical models showing how AI can reduce barriers and place actionable knowledge in the hands of the people who need it most.
The Maryland Community Compass is free and available at compass.maryland.gov.