Baltimore Civic Fund President Named 2024 Baltimore Magazine Game Changer

On Wednesday, June 12, the Baltimore Civic Fund’s president, HyeSook Chung, received a 2024 Baltimore Magazine Game Changers award. This honor is given to city leaders and change makers who have shown outstanding passion and dedication to improving the lives of everyday Baltimoreans. The ceremony was held at Baltimore Center Stage and welcomed over 250 guests eager to recognize the continued work of those committed to our neighbors.

Prior to the event HyeSook told Baltimore Magazine, “We’re impacting the way you live and the quality of life here in the city -- and I just think that’s huge; I applaud any leader who wants to improve the daily lives of us all.”

While the Civic Fund’s work is not always glamorous, the support we provide city partners ripples through the City. Maybe repairing a pothole on a neighborhood street will go unnoticed, but it makes a world of difference to the stressed parent watching their child learn how to ride a bicycle, or to a late office worker hoping to smoothly leave their block on a busy morning. By working with city partners to finance these initiatives, the Civic Fund turns ripples into waves, making Baltimoreans’ everyday lives easier.

The bedrock of Civic Fund’s success is partnership, we want to celebrate the wins of our community partners as much as we celebrate our own, because their wins are our wins too. When any of us change the game in Baltimore, we are all lifted with them.

One such partner recognized as a Baltimore Magazine Game Changer was Natasha Guynes. Natasha is the president and founder of HER Resiliency Center (HER), an organization that serves vulnerable young women by providing holistic support with the goal of long-term empowerment for all women. HER was one of the recipients of the Nonprofit Relief Fund, a fund developed by Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Baltimore Civic Fund to utilize American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support nonprofit leaders impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognition of Natasha and the whole HER team is well deserved as they make Baltimoreans’ lives better every day.

“It’s essential that we not only applaud our team’s hard work, but we cheer equally hard for our community partners,” said HyeSook Chung. “Only with their success in improving outcomes for residents will the Civic Fund be able to function as we do and keep serving Baltimore.”