Alumna Amplifies Baltimore’s Tech and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

“I often say that I carry social work into every room I enter. It is not just what I do, it is a part of who I am,” expressed Jalaycia Lewis (BSW ’20). “When others see a startup or a technology venture, I see the person behind it, their story, their sacrifices and the people counting on them to win. That perspective grounds everything.”

Jalaycia is using her social work skills in the unconventional setting of technology and startup companies in Baltimore, Maryland. She serves as the program manager for the Baltimore Innovation Initiative and the Maryland Innovation Initiative, both part of TEDCO. This organization provides funds, resources and connections to early-stage technology and life sciences companies to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in the regions it supports.

Through her program manager role, Jalaycia uses her social work skills to advance technology-based startups and to strengthen entrepreneurship infrastructure for institutions in the Baltimore region. The Baltimore Innovation Initiative is a pilot program designed to collaborate with institutions of higher education to drive innovation and entrepreneurship by encouraging:

• Technological advancement by supporting the commercialization of new and existing technology at collaborating institutions, and
• Entrepreneurship commercialization, programming, and infrastructure by supporting the creation or enhancement of entrepreneurship programs and the commercialization of tech-based infrastructure.

Her role serves as an essential link for emerging organizations and startups to critical resources and connections they might otherwise miss. “STEM fields are powerful, but without a framework invested in people as it is in progress, that power can easily circulate among the few rather than uplifting the many,” she explained. “Macro social work brings the community development lens and relationship-centered approach that STEM ecosystems have historically operated without. Together, they create the conditions for innovation that are not just cutting-edge but truly community-driven.”

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. This year, she was named to the RealLIST Connectors 2026, a list of organizers deeply engaged in championing entrepreneurship ecosystems in their areas.

“What I enjoy most about serving this region is Baltimore itself,” she elucidated. “This city is unlike any other, vibrant, resilient and full of rich history and culture.”

She noted in her feature as a RealLIST Connector, that what she loved most about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Baltimore is how, “this city has faced its share of challenges and yet the people who are building here keep showing up, not despite those challenges but because of them.”

She also added that the city of Baltimore isn’t “waiting for the world to notice but is rather putting the world on notice, laying foundations, forging connections and betting on people and ideas that the rest of the world has not caught up to yet.”

She credits the invaluable mentorship of Dr. Shalay Jackson, an associate teaching professor at the FSU College of Social Work, as a guiding light for her training in macro social work. Jalaycia noted that Dr. Jackson’s guidance and encouragement gave her the confidence to see herself in spaces she may not yet have imagined, but that aligned with her passion for creating connections.

Jalaycia was making connections even as a student, bringing together social work students at Florida State University and Florida A&M University in 2021 to celebrate the collective strengths of the social work profession from different institutions. She is also a graduate of both universities, earning her bachelor’s in social work at FSU and her Master of Social Work degree from FAMU.

“There is something deeply rewarding about being in a role where relationship-building is not just encouraged, it is essential,” she enthused. “What I enjoy most is the people, connecting with ecosystem collaborators, understanding their needs and finding ways to bridge the gaps that accelerate innovation and entrepreneurial growth across the region.”