Tia McDonald
Tia McDonald is a Baltimore-based public steward dedicated to strengthening community well-being through public service, social support systems, and grassroots engagement. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Services Administration from the University of Baltimore and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Coppin State University. Her professional foundation is rooted in human services, with a focus on equity, access, and improving outcomes for marginalized populations through both institutional and community-based work.
Her career spans more than a decade in public service roles across Baltimore. She began her work at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, where she advanced from office support to supervisory responsibilities, contributing to library operations and developing youth-focused healthy eating programming. She has also served in municipal human services with the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success, supporting case management and community resource coordination, and currently works in federal service with the Social Security Administration, assisting beneficiaries with access to critical public assistance programs. Her experience also includes guest services roles at venues such as Caesars Horseshoe Casino Baltimore and CFG Bank Arena, where she developed strong strengths in customer service and public engagement.
Outside of her formal roles, Tia is deeply engaged in community-building initiatives in Baltimore, particularly through urban agriculture and wellness education. She leads and supports the MUGS (Mondawmin Urban Green Space) initiative, where she promotes gardening, healthy eating, and neighborhood connection in the Greater Mondawmin area. She is also affiliated with programs supported by the University of Maryland Extension, reflecting her commitment to sustainable food systems and community health. Across all her work, she emphasizes resilience, collaboration, and the belief that public service is most impactful when it is rooted in dignity, accessibility, and lived community needs.
• University of Baltimore - M.S.
• MUGS (Mondawmin Urban Green Space)
What do you attribute your success to?
I contribute my success to my people in Baltimore. I'm from Baltimore, Maryland, and I love Baltimore City. Even though we do have a lot of hiccups or issues with Baltimore City in general, I love Baltimore City. I love servicing my people and helping other people. When you help someone, you're helping yourself, so that is definitely something that I enjoy, because I'm helping myself along the way in this thing called life.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice that I received, or really that I learned on my own accord, is to stay open to grow. Stay open and learn different skills, so you could be presented with many more opportunities. I think the name of the game when you're talking about working, especially within government and public service, you've got to stay open to learning new skills.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would give two statements for advice. The first statement is to be open-minded. When you are open-minded, it gives you different opportunities, or it gives you a different lens to see life played out, or it just opens up your opportunity and your visual of what life is about. And then, two, I would say to stay active within your own community, because your own community also needs services, they need committed people, and then not only that, they need examples of how to live, and how to be positive, and how to become successful, but you have to exhibit that in your own journey. I would say be a walking example, or practice what you preach. Be the example of what you're teaching other people to be and to become.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, I work for Social Security, and that is federal government. The hardship that I'm facing is finding the opportunities to strengthen my skills and to continue to grow. Within federal government, it's kind of closed off. Compared to my other experiences with local government, federal government is closed off. We're not out in the community being active, being engaging the public. Within federal government, I don't see any opportunities to engage the public and to strengthen yourself. The other hardship I see in federal government is that at one time it used to be stable, and now, with the current climate of the federal government, job opportunities are not stable. If you're looking for stable work, and then on top of that, work where you're going to deliver service that has a value in the people and the community engagement aspect, then you may want to rethink about federal government, because federal government has not opened up that door to start coming into the communities to add community engagement as a focal point for servicing. We're not in your community knocking on your door telling you, do you know about retirement? We don't even go to jobs to educate people on how to get their retirement and plan for healthcare, like Medicare. I think that federal government needs to really focus on beefing up or improving the engagement and educational component about teaching people about our benefits and our services.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The first three values that I hold to are, one, being authentic. Being honest with yourself will allow you to be honest with other people. Second, the second value I have and I hold is providing assistance to the public. I think when you put the focus on the value of helping others, that will give you inner peace, and it helps someone else out in the long run. And then the third value, I would say, is commitment. When you are committed to your passion, when you're committed to the job duty you're doing, or at least back to your own personal values, then you will see that the work is a lot easier, and it would be more beneficial for who you're servicing.
Locations
Social Security Administration
Baltimore, MD 21217