Meet the CEO

A woman stands smiling, wearing a floral-patterned black dress with short sleeves, hoop earrings, and a belt, in front of a blurred outdoor background.

Tisha Edwards, MSW, JD
President & CEO | Maryland Bankers Association
Executive Vice President | Mid-Atlantic Bankers Association

Tisha Edwards is a mission-driven executive with more than two decades of experience uniting the reach of public service with the agility of the private sector to drive access, equity, and opportunity for Marylanders.

Edwards was named President and CEO of the Maryland Bankers Association (MBA) and officially began her tenure in April 2025. Edwards also serves as Executive Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Bankers Association. In her role at MBA—the leading advocate, trusted partner, and premier resource for Maryland banks and the banking industry—she is focused on advocating for the industry, deepening bank and community engagement, expanding financial education, while growing the Association’s visibility and impact across the state.

Edwards has spent her career advancing systems-level change at the intersection of government, education, and the private sector. Her leadership has consistently centered equity, with a focus on removing barriers that have historically limited families from thriving and reaching their full potential. She has held several C-suite roles, including Interim CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Baltimore, President of BridgeEdu, and Founding Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success. In each post, she successfully led organizational growth, policy innovation, and strategic restructuring, while managing multi-million-dollar budgets and aligning teams around bold organizational goals.

In 2021, Edwards served as Chief of Staff to Wes Moore’s Maryland gubernatorial campaign. Following Moore’s election, she was appointed Secretary of Appointments in the Moore-Miller Administration, where she led the process of filling more than 600 state board and commission roles. Her work helped expand representation across Maryland’s leadership landscape and reinforced the administration’s commitment to inclusivity and leaving no one behind.

Edwards’ leadership and impact have earned statewide recognition. In 2025, she became the first Black woman to serve as President and CEO of a state banking association in the history of the industry. In the same year, she was named Alumni of the Year by the University of Maryland School of Social Work (MSW ’00, JD ’01) and was recognized by NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore at its LOUDER event for her outstanding leadership and commitment to advancing mental health advocacy. She has also been honored by The Daily Record as a 2025 Influential Marylander, celebrating her as one of the state’s most dynamic and inspirational leaders shaping Maryland’s future, and was named to The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women in 2024.

Edwards serves on the boards of United Way of Central Maryland, Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, the USM Board of Regents, and the University of Maryland School of Social Work Board of Advisors. She is also appointed to the Maryland Comptroller’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Council and the Maryland Community Investment Venture Fund Advisory Board.