HopkinsLocal

Johns Hopkins partners on small-business incubator

The Light of Baltimore Incubator at Baker Donelson will support 26 small businesses with office space and mentoring

Alicia Wilson speaks at a podium celebrating the opening of The Light of Baltimore Incubator at Baker Donelson

Image caption: Alicia Wilson at the opening celebration for The Light of Baltimore Incubator at Baker Donelson

Credit: Photo by Michael Ciesielski

Johns Hopkins University is one of several partners behind the launch of The Light of Baltimore Incubator at Baker Donelson, a partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, to provide office space, mentorship, and legal and marketing support for 26 HopkinsLocal businesses and other regional small businesses.

Baker Donelson, a Baltimore-based law firm, has donated the 23rd floor of its building at 100 Light St. to the JHU Office of Economic Development Small Business Cohort.

The partnership arose from a brainstorming phone call between Jennifer Curry, managing shareholder of Baker Donelson's Baltimore office, and Alicia Wilson, vice president for Economic Development and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University and Health System. During the call, the former law school classmates talked about how to partner in a creative way to drive transformational change for Baltimore, its residents, and its small businesses.

Wilson praised the incubator after its grand-opening celebration Oct. 11 in an Instagram post: "In less than four months, we went from brainstorming to implementation. It is a joy to see dreams come true for all of us."