UpSurge Baltimore has named its replacement for departed CEO Jamie McDonald, choosing to promote another executive who has been with the company since March 2021.
UpSurge said that Kory Bailey has taken the reins as the organization's CEO. He had served under McDonald for two years, first as UpSurge’s director of relationship development and then as chief ecosystem and relationship officer starting in July 2022.
Bailey is known throughout the technology community, speaking at events ranging from Visit Baltimore’s annual meeting to the vigil for murdered technology CEO Pava LaPere. Bailey is taking over at a pivotal time for the organization in the aftermath of Greater Baltimore being named a federal technology hub. Bailey plans to continue pushing for more collaboration between the economic players in Baltimore and create an equitable technology ecosystem that offers opportunities for under-represented people.
McDonald announced that she was stepping down from the nonprofit earlier this year to spend more time with her husband, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's shortly after UpSurge's launch. Bailey officially took over on Nov. 1, according to a spokesperson.
"I’ve been proud to work side-by-side with Kory," McDonald said in a statement. "He is a visionary leader and community builder who has played a key role in shaping UpSurge’s outsized impact over the past nearly three years. I know he will guide UpSurge and Baltimore tech toward our goal of becoming a top-tier tech city and the first Equitech city.”
Bailey was the second employee hired at UpSurge and became drawn to the nonprofit because of the potential to build a tech ecosystem that is fundamentally different from other cities. In Indianapolis, Bailey was the only Black employee at Sigstr, a 75-person company, and wanted to feel a greater sense of belonging at an organization focused on equity.
Indianapolis has a fairly large Black population but there was not enough effort by the community to create opportunities in the tech industry for Black people and other minority groups, Bailey said. Bailey believes that the presence of other Black leaders in Maryland like Gov. Wes Moore and the Greater Baltimore Committee's Mark Anthony Thomas can provide a model for other cities.
"I think that in a majority Black city, it's important to see Black leadership and model different avenues into leadership," Bailey said.
UpSurge has become one of the most notable players in the Baltimore technology ecosystem under McDonald's leadership with its signature concept “equitech” earning a spot on Baltimore’s successful application to become a tech hub and becoming part of an National Institute of Health funded accelerator for neurotech companies. Bailey's work led to UpSurge creating equitech Tuesday, a weekly meetup for the technology community ranging from investors, entrepreneurs to workers, and the creation of the Baltimore Tech connect portal to help people learn the key players in Baltimore's tech economy.
"It starts at home and we very much believe that most of Baltimore's future major employers are rooted here and are growing up here," Bailey said in an interview with the Baltimore Business Journal.
The continuing work with the GBC to complete the second phase of the Baltimore Tech Hub application is going to be a key part of the next few months of Bailey's work. Bailey believes the Baltimore's focus on equity helped it earn the federal designation. UpSurge helped connect several of the 38 consortium members with the GBC for the application, he said.
