Bob Embry, who has had a hand in everything from creating Harborplace to seeding initiatives that address the city’s economic and educational inequities, is retiring as president of the Abell Foundation.

“I’ll be 88 in the fall,” Embry said. “It’s time.”

Embry’s 38 years at the foundation, which funds more than $15 million in research and programs in the city annually, came after a public service career that included stints as a Baltimore city councilman, president of the city and state boards of education, assistant U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary and, perhaps most consequentially for his hometown, a top aide to Mayor William Donald Schaefer when the Inner Harbor waterfront was transformed and downtown revitalized.

“Bob has been really one of the great social architects of Baltimore during the time of great change,” said former U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski. “He’s always had great ideas and practical solutions to very complex problems.”

His departure from Abell, whose work mirrors his passion for understanding and fixing the kind of urban woes that beset his hometown, surprised some who said they can’t imagine a Baltimore without his engagement.

“I figured they’d take him out feet first,” said Sandy Hillman, the communications executive who is a close friend and fellow veteran of the Schaefer administration. “It was a total fit with what he cared about.”

Embry said he’s not done working.

“I plan to do something else,” he said. “I’m a lawyer. I’ve talked to a number of nonprofits that need a lawyer. I don’t feel any limitations on my ability to work. That may change tomorrow, or I may not be aware of it. Somebody else may be aware of it.”

‘Only one Bob Embry’

Embry’s dry demeanor and slight physical stature mask an outsized influence in Baltimore where he seemingly has permanent residence on any number of local power lists. But noting that tends to draw a slight shudder of horror from him.

“I didn’t ask to be on the list,” he protested. “I don’t know what the criteria is for getting on it.”

Rather, he said, he points to the power the foundation has to issue reports that can sometimes prompt a change in public policy changes and fund programs “that wouldn’t happen, but for us.”

The foundation, which has more than $300 million in assets, harkens back in both name and founding to A.S. Abell, who started The Sun in 1837. In 1953, Harry C. Black, then the chairman of A.S. Abell Co., created the foundation, whose coffers and mission expanded significantly in 1986 when Times-Mirror bought the company and its “Sunpapers.”

The following year, Embry was hired, and now the foundation board is launching a search — nationwide in scope, yet with the goal of finding someone with deep Baltimore knowledge — for a successor. But not a replacement.

“There is only one Bob Embry,” said Christy Wyskiel, who chairs Abell’s board of trustees. “There’s no one who cares more or puts every single fiber of his being into Baltimore and being thoughtful about how he and others can be helpful to Baltimore.”

Wyskiel credits Embry for introducing her to her boss, Johns Hopkins President Ron Daniels, whom she serves as a senior advisor for innovation and entrepreneurship.

“He has a knack for pulling people together,” she said. “He’s been the glue to so many relationships.”

Embry convinced a Harvard Law classmate, Sandy Hillman’s husband, Bob, to move to town, and, along with another classmate Mark Jacobs, they became part of Schaefer’s administration and remain part of Baltimore’s civic firmament. Mikulski was elected to the city council in 1971, and Embry by then was housing and community development commissioner, and she considers them part of a reform movement that upended the old political machines.

“And off we went,” she said.

‘The humans of Baltimore City’

Embry, who is staying at Abell until a new president is found, is known to call, out of the blue, people doing innovative work to help struggling high school students or ex-offenders or fathers needing help to support their children. He’ll invite them to a dinner with business leaders or college presidents, and suddenly, doors start to open.

“Bob and that dinner completely changed my life’s trajectory,” said Sarah Hemminger, the founder of Thread, a well regarded Baltimore nonprofit that mentors and supports high school students.

Embry had seen an article about the program and how it creates a “family” of volunteers for each student that commits to getting them through to graduation and follow them for years beyond.

Hemminger was a grad student at Hopkins, and Thread at that point was essentially a student group that had started helping high schoolers at a single school. She said she was so “clueless” about the philanthropy sector that when she went to meet Embry and was running late to drop off a mentee, she brought them along to the meeting.

That led to Abell and others funding Thread and it growing to the point that it now works with hundreds of students at seven high schools. It could grow even further with multiple cities approaching her seeking to adopt her model, but after consulting with Embry she decided to “be disciplined and focused” and keep Thread local.

“Our North Star is Baltimore,” Hemminger said. “I trust Bob because Bob’s agenda has always been the humans of Baltimore city.”

‘The one person who listened’

Under Embry, the Abell Foundation has supported groups from elsewhere opening a local base, such as Teach for America and Roca, the violence interruption program, as well as homegrown initiatives — the Rose Street Community Center in East Baltimore, and the Center for Urban Families, which began when social worker Joe Jones saw there were no programs to help fathers support their children.

“I’m always humbled by the work that our grantees do compared to what I do,” Embry said. “I mean, I write a check, but they’re out 24 hours, seven days a week, doing good.

“The people we are spending money on, they’re real heroes to me. So every day, almost, I’m dealing with somebody who’s doing heroic work.”

Embry involvement often goes beyond signing checks, though, to participating in the programs on the street level.

“I don’t think you can be effective in knowing what the problems are, unless you’re dealing with the people that are experiencing those problems,” Embry said.

“Bob used to do some crazy stuff,” Jones said. “He would call me and say, ‘I went to the prison and I picked up this guy.’ I want you to take him and work your magic.’”

Jones’ work, which over the years has attracted praise and the attention of the likes of then-Vice President Al Gore, said he only started getting traction after Embry took interest.

“I was talking to policy makers, and I got ignored,” Jones said. “The one person who listened intently was Bob.”

‘Deeply involved’

Jones considers Embry authentically Baltimore. And indeed, his father, Robert C. EmbrySr. was radio broadcast pioneer in town and a part owner of the Colts. Jones says they share a love of the Ravens, and he will run into Embry in some unexpected places, such as at New Beginnings in the Hollins Market neighborhood, presided over by an “OG Black barber,” Troy Staton.

“I go down to the barber shop, and who’s coming out but Bob,” Jones said.Black barber shop.”” “He’s a real product of the city.”

Embry, who is married to the sculptor Mary Ann Mears and has four grown daughters, has been around long enough to see in real time the benefits of programs he’s helped fund, such as the CollegeBound Foundation, which set a certain student at Mervo High School on a path to college and beyond, including City Hall.

“I’ve now known Bob most of my life,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. He now serves on CollegeBound’s board, and seems to have picked up some tips from the master. “I literally, purposely always sat next to Bob at every single board meeting.”

Scott said he doesn’t see Embry’s work ending with his retirement from Abell.

“I don’t know a world where Bob Embry isn’t deeply involved,” he said, “in every facet of the Baltimore community.”

Have a news tip? Contact Jean Marbella at jmarbella@baltsun.com, 410-332-6060, or @jeanmarbella.bsky.social.