Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, former 50th Mayor of Baltimore, brings her extensive experience in government, public policy and crisis management to clients seeking strategic counsel on public affairs, regulatory matters and complex government relationships.
In January 2024, Stephanie was appointed Chair of Airbnb’s Housing Council, an advisory group of leading housing organizations, advocates and elected officials that offers strategic guidance to Airbnb on addressing housing affordability challenges and aligning its public policy initiatives with expert perspectives and community needs.
Prior to her work with Airbnb, Stephanie served as the Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Foundation. In this role, she was responsible for the strategic vision and management of the NBPA Foundation, which distributes millions in grants to organizations around the world. She grew player engagement off the court and transformed the way basketball players engaged with the foundation to grow their own philanthropy. Stephanie oversaw the foundation's overarching agenda, which included partnerships with leading organizations in the areas of childhood nutrition, disaster relief, mental health, social justice and youth sports.
Nationally, Stephanie was the first and only Black woman elected to serve as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. She also served as the Secretary of the Democratic National Committee, gaveling open the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Before becoming Mayor, Stephanie served as President of the Baltimore City Council. In this role, she presided over the Legislative Branch of Government and the Board of Estimates, the fiscal management body for Baltimore.
Stephanie has been recognized with numerous awards, including the First Citizen Award by the Maryland State Senate after successfully leading the effort to bring over $1 billion in school construction funds to Baltimore, "Maryland's Top 100 Women" in 2007 & 2011 by the Maryland Daily Record, “Shirley Chisholm Memorial Award Trailblazer” by The National Congress of Black Women, and one of Baltimore's "Young Women on the Move" by the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs.