Professional Biography.
Mark Anthony Thomas is the new President & CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, the first since the organization's spring merger with the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore (EAGB). Mark brings more than two decades of experience leading competitive economic development strategies and public-private partnerships for the nation’s largest and most complex metropolitan areas and a lifelong passion for communications, public policy, and cities.
Mark previously served as the President for the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance and worked with public officials, development and talent partners to position the region for more than $2 billion in capital investment, with more than 100 business expansion and development projects. He chaired the Board of Directors for the Power of 32 Site Development Fund, which deploys low-cost capital for regional development projects, and co-chaired a public partnership to reposition Pittsburgh’s downtown for the post-pandemic impact of remote and hybrid work.
Before PRA, Mark served as the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s first senior vice president of partnerships, establishing teams to foster and manage industry and international relationships and business attraction. He served a pivotal role in launching NYC’s $1.3 billion cluster investment strategy to catalyze more than 100,000 jobs through emerging growth sectors and neighborhood developments. Mark has also served in Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration, leading efforts to craft and securing support to reform LA’s public works, real estate, and risk reduction operations and centralizing the city’s procurement function.
Before entering the public sector, Mark worked in the media sector, shaping content and investigative journalism on social impact, economic development, and effective governance. He received his MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and BA from the University of Georgia, and has served on several boards supporting college access, creative arts, and civic innovation.
He’s also a poet.
Creative & Poetic Roots.
Mark’s creative writing started as a passion as a teenager in the Atlanta region. While a student at the University of Georgia, Mark spent 4-years as a writer and Editor-in-Chief (1999) for the daily newspaper the Red & Black, the first African American in the paper’s 100+ year history. He was featured in Time magazine and appeared on NBC’s 11-Alive as a Future Leader of Tomorrow, and was recognized by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. as College Brother of the Year for Georgia (1999 and 2000) and the Southeast U.S. (Alpha South) (2001).
He published two poetry books, As I Look (2000) and The Poetic Repercussion (2004), which featured more than 160 poems and prose pieces, performing at more than 200 events, universities, and conferences across the United States. He produced commissioned works for elected officials, business leaders, and many causes, including domestic violence, civil rights, child abuse, poverty, and global peace. His collaboration with Georgia Ballet produced Jazz Synchrony, a performance set to one of Mark’s poems, in 2006.
He appeared on the Poetry Foundation’s National Contemporary Poetry Best Sellers List in March 2006, won the Poetry Book of the Year Award in 2005 from the Los Angeles Black Book Expo, and was a nominee for Georgia Author of the Year for Poetry in 2005. In 2012, Getty Images honored the short film, featuring his poem “In This Shop,” with the Global Mishmash Award.