05/27/2026
Tobius Nance grew up in Northeast Baltimore thinking his experience was the norm — STEM programs nearby, a scholarship to the University of Maryland, opportunities that felt ordinary.
Then he saw what the data showed about the rest of his city and it changed how he understood everything.
Neighborhood by neighborhood, the numbers showed what he hadn't seen from where he stood: neighborhoods where nearly half of all children live below the poverty line. Communities with almost no programming for older youth. A map of opportunity gaps he'd never had to navigate himself.
That shift — from assumption to clarity — is what moved Tobius from the young person the data described to one of the people using it to drive change.
Today, Tobius serves as Youth Co-Chair of the Community Advisory Board at Baltimore's Promise, representing the board at the Board of Directors level. He helped shape the Community Research and Action Committee, a governance body that centers young people in decisions about how data is collected, interpreted and acted on.
Baltimore's Promise built the data ecosystem that gave Tobius the tools to see past his own experience. Now he's using those tools to make sure other young people don't have to.
📖 Read the full spotlight on Tobius to learn more about his story: https://hubs.li/Q04j2KfW0
