Laurie has dedicated her career to helping make Baltimore an even better place to live and work. Early in her career, Laurie was behind the creation of Downtown Partnership, later serving as its President for 15 years. After a stint in Mayor O’Malley’s office and then consulting with non-profit entities and institutions, Laurie worked with Waterfront owners and the City of Baltimore to create a new organization — Waterfront Partnership — along with a Waterfront Business Improvement District to help maintain and manage the Inner Harbor. Since then, the Waterfront Partnership has become known as a “lean and nimble” entity that achieves results in many ways, including new community-based events at the Harbor, building new parks, and creating a cleaner Harbor in which to kayak and, at some point, safely swim in.