"I direct fundraising for the Annual Fund (from individual and institutional donors), including the solicitation of memberships, orchestrating direct mail, email and social media campaigns, and special events. Founded in 1844 as the Maryland Historical Society, the Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) is the state's oldest continuously operating  nonprofit cultural institution. We have 350,000 objects, along with 7 million books, photographs, documents and manuscripts, including the earliest existing version of Francis Scott Key’s poem celebrating the victory over the British during the Battle of Baltimore. The poem set to music and became the Star-Spangled Banner, now the United States national anthem."

"I was recruited by the Baltimore-based Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Maryland’s leading classical theatre company, to be its new Director of Development, as the organization was emerging from the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and celebrating its twentieth anniversary. I am responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive fundraising plan... incorporating annual giving, grant solicitation and management, special events, and capital initiatives. Ongoing duties include identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding major gifts from individual donors, foundations, government agencies, and corporate partners."
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Theatre
(Photo from Theatre Consultants Collaborative,  Alan Gilbert Photography)

‏"I joined the Development team at Center Stage before the start of their $30 million capital campaign and subsequent renovation of the theater's historic downtown building. In charge of Annual Giving, I cultivated relationships with trustees and major donors through committee activities, direct solicitations and special events, and I directed efforts to increase smaller gifts through direct mail and online giving campaigns, in addition to assisting in coordinating and shepherding asks for the campaign. Recognized as the State Theater of Maryland, Baltimore Center Stage is the area's largest regional theater, with individual gifts totaling nearly $1 million each year during my tenure there."

‏"I was hired as Grants Manager for this 44-year-old non-profit, managing a portfolio of operational grants, including all of the organization's Ryan White HIV funding requests and reporting, plus other government, corporate and foundation funding specifically for its Baltimore City clinics. I later assumed the Director of Communications position at People's, but still managed grant writers... Begun as a free clinic with all volunteer physicians in 1970, PCHC was the first "look-alike" accepted into the government's Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) program and operated as a full FQHC for many years before closing in 2014."

Photo by Brian D. Lyles: Medical Director Lelin Chao, M.D. being interviewed at a National Health Center Week event. 

"As a Director of Communications for Genesis HealthCare, my duties included internal communications efforts that reached 36,000 employees in over 200 locations in 13 states, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The company provides short-term post-acute, rehabilitation, skilled nursing and long-term care services. Our department focused on internal communications, and I assisted in managing the bi-weekly 'Big Blue' publication and developing a new intranet news page, which involved writing, editing, working with a freelance designer, and coordination with designated employees at each site. During the summer of 2007 I was chosen to accompany the company's Vice President for Government Relations on a regional tour to several states, encouraging support for (and fighting proposed cuts to) Medicare and Medicaid funding. My daily reports for the intranet were combined into a booklet that was delivered to members of Congress... Genesis has since grown into the largest skilled nursing company in the country, with approximately 500 skilled nursing centers and assisted/senior living residences in 34 states across the United States."

Photo by Brian D. Lyles of healthcare rally at the New Jersey State House in Trenton

"Recruited by former co-workers from Children’s National Health System in Washington, DC, I moved to Phoenix, Arizona to join the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). The non-profit was conceived as part of a business development effort for Phoenix. As Manager of Corporate & Foundation Relations for the Neurogenomics Division, I secured funding and strengthened relationships that helped the organization move from its start-up phase and into its newly constructed headquarters with state-of-the-art labs and offices for scientists."

Photo by Brian D. Lyles of TGen headquarters on the day of its dedication

‏"When Children’s National Medical Center (now known as Children’s National Health System) embarked on a $200 million fundraising campaign, I was recruited from Baltimore to join in the effort. As Grants Manager, my first success was the acquisition of a new $1 million capital grant to fund the build-out of a new neurological research lab for the Children's Research Institute, affiliated with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. I also managed a $3-4 million annual portfolio of new and existing operating grants, including establishing and managing corporate and foundation relationships that helped the Giant Steps campaign exceed its goal."

Photo of Children's Hospital lobby from website

"I was asked by the Museum of Industry's Founding Director Dennis Zembala to become the institution's Development Officer. During my two years there, I oversaw the corporate membership program, developed a new annual report, supervised a brick campaign, assisted in presentations to the Maryland Legislature for bond bill funding, managed a new gala, hired a staff, and was promoted to Director of Marketing & Development."

From web, Baltimore Museum of Industry exterior

‏"Created in 1926, the Baltimore Engineer magazine was once the digest of record for engineering projects in the area. By the time I joined The Engineering Society the magazine was beginning to refocus to reflect the growing non-engineer / general business membership of the organization. Later I helped to fully redesign the magazine into a new publication, Quick's Professional Journal, named after Alfred E. Quick, the city water engineer who was instrumental in founding the club in 1905. The new publication covered its costs, and throughout my tenure as editor we maintained a series of monthly articles on local construction, engineering or renovation projects, in addition to club news and member profiles. Today, however, the publication has transitioned into a simple club newsletter."

Baltimore Engineer magazine cover designed by Brian Davis Lyles

‏"The Engineering Society of Baltimore is the association of engineers and other professionals that operates The Engineers Club. Located in the historic Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, the club is one of Baltimore’s leading catering and special event facilities. As Publications Manager, I edited a monthly publication and produced flyers and other promotions, and I assisted in the logistics of a new 501(c)(3) organization created for the preservation of the building, in addition to managing public relations, event planning and marketing efforts. I also served as liaison to several board committees. By the time I left, I had been named Marketing Director... The organization's annual Fire Ball and quarterly Networking Happy Hours were created during my time there, and movies like Major League II, 12 Monkeys, Species II and TV shows like Homicide: Life on the Streets filmed scenes."

‏Photo of Garrett-Jacobs Mansion staircase, designed by architect Stanford White (McKim, Mead & White, New York).