Board Members - Odette T. Ramos

Founder, President & CEO, Strategic Management Consulting

Ms. Ramos is the President and CEO of Strategic Management Consulting, a Baltimore based firm she founded in 2005 and is the owner. Strategic Management Consulting is dedicated to ensuring organizations (including community groups, nonprofits, businesses, public agencies, and others) operate strategically and effectively to be significant players in achieving a vision for their quality of life. The firm works with groups to operate within the context of the “big picture” by facilitating strategic planning and implementation processes as well as retreats and meetings, assisting with organizational development and strengthening – especially with groups who do not fit the typical molds.

Ms. Ramos has numerous years experience in strategic planning; devising and holding to action plans; and starting up organizations. She has started and strengthened neighborhood groups, non-profits, and businesses, and other organizational structures that do not fit the typical molds. She has organizational development and management experience, as well as fundraising, resource development, marketing, and media planning experience. These, coupled with her skills and experience in community organizing and meeting facilitation, have been channeled to help facilitate processes and sets of actions that enable groups to implement their plans. More importantly, Ms. Ramos adds organizational strengthening to every plan, and works with groups to structure and strengthen themselves as needed. Ms. Ramos is also a reviewer for the Maryland Non-Profits Standards of Excellence.

Her work has primarily been in Baltimore specifically in community building, with particular emphasis on organizational development and strengthening, and organizational strategy experience with unique configurations and transition processes. During her time as President and CEO of Strategic Management Consulting, she facilitated strategic planning processes for several diverse groups; conducted a broad community planning process; performed executive transition services including interim director; helped several groups design and build new organizational structures (both staff and board level); and created board manuals, personnel policies and other items as needed. Ms. Ramos uses an inclusionary approach to her work, ensuring all staff, board, and other stakeholders are involved as much as possible in the process in order to secure buy-in and accountability.

Previous to starting Strategic Management Consulting, LLC, she was the Executive Director and Founder of a unique alliance called the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, which after 10 years is still a strong and successful organization. Before that she was the Neighborhood Programs Director for the Greater Homewood Community Corporation in northern Baltimore City where she became the co-chair and spokesperson for the Neighborhood Congress. Her experience also includes fundraising for US Senator Barbara Mikulski’s (D-MD) successful 1998 campaign, Legislative Aid to Delegate Jim Campbell in the Maryland State Legislature in 1997.

Ms. Ramos was named the 2009 Professional Woman of the Year in Management Consulting from the National Association of Professional Women, was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by the Daily Record in 2007, and is part of the 2006 class of The GBC LEADERship. In her volunteer time, Ms. Ramos is involved in her neighborhood association, is the Chair of the Board of the Community Mediation Program, and President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, on the Board of the Goucher College Alumni and Alumnae Association and is the Fundraising Committee Chair for Live Baltimore. In 1998 she was one of the founders and organizers of the Neighborhood Congress and its chief spokesperson. In 1998, she also helped to start the Village Learning Place and transition the Board of Directors from a “hands on” founding Board to a governing Board. Ms. Ramos has run several political and issue oriented campaigns.

Ms. Ramos graduated with Honors from Goucher College in Baltimore in 1995 majoring in a self-created major called Social Justice. She went on to earn a Master's Degree in Public Policy Public Administration in 1996 from the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey through the Harold Martin Fellowship. Ms. Ramos is Puerto Rican, and most of her family still lives in Puerto Rico. She was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, relocated to Baltimore in 1991, lives in Charles Village, and calls Baltimore her home.