Lanaea Featherstone

President/Cofounder

William & Lanaea C. Featherstone Foundation

In 2013, Lanaea Featherstone began to work full time at her own foundation – one that designs and implements programs to make Baltimore a better place to live and work for disadvantaged Latino immigrants and Hispanics.

The William and Lanaea C. Featherstone Foundation launched in 2008 to “create sustainable solutions to bridge the opportunity divide among the Latino and underserved communities,” Featherstone said. A community fellowship from Baltimore’s Open Society Institute allowed her to take this work full time five years later.

The results have been positive: A training program for the Latino community, called Reaching New Heights, has helped participants move from restaurants and other service industry positions to jobs as tellers and community branch bankers for major financial institutions, Featherstone said. In January 2016, the program was recognized by Gov. Larry Hogan for advancing economic outcomes for the state’s Hispanic community.

“Our graduates are working at BB&T Bank, Wells Fargo, Priority Financial Services, and New York Life,” she said. “Some of our participants report making double their previous annual income, plus benefits.”

The foundation won the Nonprofit of the Year Award in 2015 from the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“My proudest moments are watching the participants in my programs thrive – and succeed,” she said.