Welcome to the fourth annual 25 Black Marylanders to Watch. Each Sunday in the month of February, The Baltimore Sun has showcased a selection of winners and their stories. This year’s honorees include up-and-comers, established voices and people making marks in new careers. Each of them brings something special to the conversation.

The honorees were chosen by The Sun’s editors and reporters who cover these topics and communities, and see the progress these individuals are making in their fields.

Stevie Walker-WebbBaltimore Center Stage artistic director

Stevie Walker-Webb had barely moved into his new office before he began making headlines. In his inaugural season, Walker-Webb landed two buzzworthy and potentially Broadway-bound world premieres: Playwright Jordan E. Cooper’s “Oh Happy Day!” bowed in September to enthusiastic reviews, and in May “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner will debut his play about presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth.

In November, the theater announced an ambitious civic engagement program backed by a $1 million fundraising campaign. It includes theater workshops in juvenile detention facilities and a career development program for at-risk youth.

But Walker-Webb says he’s just getting started.

“We have two world premieres coming next season that will feature even bigger names than we had this year,” he said.

“Even as we take our world premieres to New York, we’re committed to enriching the arts scene here in Baltimore.”

— Mary Carole McCauleyAmanda and Joseph BurtonRooted Rotisserie owners

Their restaurant is practically new, but Amanda and Joseph Burton have been quick to invest in their clientele. Already, the owners of Rooted Rotisserie have reached out to those in need, sharing their culinary savvy with wannabe chefs, and their meals with the indigent.

“We prioritize giving back,” said Amanda, who, with her husband, opened their French-style eatery on a shoestring budget in Baltimore in 2023. Soon after, Joe helped lead an after-school workshop on how to fix food like buttermilk fried chicken and collard greens. Moreover, each Sunday, the restaurateur gathers any of those leftover, savory rotisserie chickens — his signature dish — and donates them to a homeless shelter.

This month, the Burtons — both graduates of Randallstown High and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore — held a lecture and cooking demonstration at Anne Arundel Community College. February’s calendar also has included a French-style meal for members of the French club at a nearby elementary school; a partnership with Meals On Wheels; and plans to teach basic cooking skills to unemployed adults in Southwest Baltimore who are seeking work. All the while, the Burtons are also teaching their own staff how to run a business.

“We want to empower our employees to go out on their own,” Amanda said.

— Mike Klingaman

Jinji FraserJinji Chocolate owner

In her Willy Wonka world, Jinji Fraser is an anomaly: a successful Black entrepreneur in the white, male-dominated realm of chocolate-making. Yet there she is, a businesswoman, making her name in a business shy of female paragons, and quick to share her savvy with anyone keen to follow.

“I talk to students, from elementary school to college, about starting a business and what it’s like to make chocolate [from scratch],” said Fraser, who owns a bustling shop on Greenmount Avenue in Baltimore. “It’s kind of a privilege to give back to the community, share experiences and offer advice. I like to live by that tenet — and chocolate is an easy ‘in,’ for sure.”

Fraser imports cacao beans from family-owned farms in Trinidad and crafts her ethically sourced confections, which sets her apart from most chocolatiers. However, challenges have driven the Lauraville resident ever since her years as a competitive swimmer at the McDonogh School and the University of Indiana.

“I like the dynamic of being a Black woman in an industry where no one looks like me at all,” Fraser said. Those days are gone.

— Mike Klingaman

Dr. Taofeek Kunle OwonikokoUMMC cancer center director

Since taking the helm as executive director of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore one year ago, Dr. Taofeek Kunle Owonikoko has continued to care for patients as he completes a host of research and administrative duties.

“I actually don’t consider it a choice,” he said. “I consider it more of a requirement and a responsibility, because at the end of the day, why do we exist? To improve the outcome and the luck for our patients.”

Owonikoko is a thoracic oncologist, but as executive director of the center, his goal is to bring lab research to bear in clinical trials.

“We want to look at [the studies] from the prism of: How do they impact the patient in front of us today, tomorrow and next year?” he said.

Currently, the center is enrolling small-cell lung cancer patients in a clinical trial for a pill that might slow the disease, Owonikoko said.

“It came out of the work done in my lab, where we identified a new class of drugs that can be administered by mouth instead of IV,” he said.

— Christine Condon

Chandra SmithAdvocate for people with disabilities

Chandra Smith was working in a field that would define her life before she even knew it.

She worked in a newly created role for a defense intelligence agency in 508 compliance, a federal requirement for digital accessibility to be available to individuals with disabilities.

When the IT engineer from Pasadena suffered a catastrophic health event that tied her mobility to a wheelchair for life, she decided to use her professional experience and her disability to help others.

“We need digital ramps as well as physical ramps,” Smith said. “I subscribe to the social model of disability. I think of access to everything we need in the physical world as well as the virtual world.”

She especially wanted to shine a light on women, so she entered the Ms. Wheelchair America competition to advocate for accessibility in the disabled world. “It’s about empowering women who have disabilities, and they use wheelchairs for mobility,” Smith said. “That is my type of beautiful.”

In 2023, Smith won the Maryland title and in 2024 she was crowned Ms. Wheelchair America, where she represents 54 million individuals with a disability.

— Glynis Kazanjian

Jafar TaruTowson University Police sergeant

Towson University Police Sgt. Jafar Taru’s dog, Bruno, was different from the other canines at a police training session in January.

The dogs who Taru and his pooch trained with are mostly patrol K-9s who sniff out guns or drugs, and are trained to bite on command. Bruno is still a puppy, and likes to play, Taru said.

“I mean, he has no aggression whatsoever,” Taru said. But “that’s the dog that you want to do this type of job.”

Bruno is Towson’s first comfort dog, a part of the university’s public safety team who offers emotional support and comfort around campus. Throughout the past year, he’s provided a friendly face while responding with Taru to calls on the midnight shift.

The duo was working on obedience recently, but as their training progresses, Taru hopes to use Bruno for more community policing functions such as comforting victims during difficult interviews or in the court system.

Taru, who has also worked in the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office and Baltimore County Police Department, feels that his longtime role with the university’s police force allows him to provide the campus community with better services. Raised by a former Baltimore City juvenile services director, he’s always had a passion for helping people through law enforcement.

“Policing has come a long way and has a long way to go,” Taru said. Specifically, he wants to ensure that police are taking care of themselves and their mental well-being. If officers are suffering, “that transfers over to the community,” he said.

“This job right here allows me to do that because I do provide a comfort to officers” with Bruno, he said.

— Dan Belson