By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
Baltimore native Ramsey L. Harris has a passion for serving communities. Not only is he PNC’s senior vice president and Greater Maryland market manager for the bank’s Community Development Banking and the Corporate Responsibility Group, but he’s also the pastor and founder of City Sanctuary Ministries.
“I’ve been able to create a community-focused banking career that dovetails with who I am outside of the bank as a third-generation Pentecostal pastor with a desire to help people,” he said.
Harris spent his elementary years in Baltimore City before moving to the county. His parents split when he was young, and Harris was primarily raised by his mother.
She was determined to keep him out of trouble but, despite her efforts, Harris got into mischief early on. Consequently, his paternal grandfather, an Apostolic Pentecostal bishop and civil rights activist, stepped in to steer Harris back onto the right path.
“That’s where my life began to take a turn toward who I am today,” said Harris. “My grandfather was my hero. He personified what it meant to be a strong, positive and successful Black male.”
Harris said he felt compelled to become a leader in the community like his grandfather. He first acted on this instinct by becoming a minister.
Harris was trained under his grandfather and licensed before college. When it came time to pick a school, he had plans of attending Morehouse College. But, he ultimately chose University of Delaware to be closer to home and support his grandfather’s church.
While there, he landed a telemarketing internship with Bank of America, his first foray in the world of banking. Then, during his senior year, a PNC recruiter reached out to him about entering the bank’s management trainee program.
“After undergrad, my goal was to either go to seminary or law school. I decided to temporarily give a shot because I thought it could help me save more money to go to seminary or law school,” said Harris.
Banking drew Harris in because it enabled him to help others become financially empowered.
“There was an interest there, but I didn’t see it as a long-term career because I’m a third-generation Pentecostal preacher and I had desires to obtain a law degree. I saw myself eventually pastoring a church and going into some type of law practice to help people,” Harris said. “Once I got into the banking industry, the rest was history.”
Harris started his career with PNC in Delaware. But, after his mother got sick, he relocated to Baltimore to take care of her. While in the training program, one of Harris’ capstone projects was supporting the opening of the Charles Village Branch of PNC.
Before getting into community development banking at PNC, Harris spent stints as a branch manager and business development officer, supporting Black and Brown entrepreneurs who frequented branches in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods. All the while, Harris remained active in ministry.
“Then, I continued to climb the corporate ladder. I became a leader and even a territory executive in our Community Reinvestment Act small business lending space,” said Harris. “I was very instrumental in authoring the playbook for how PNC supports and lends to small, minority business enterprises.
“That kind of laid the foundation for a national department that we’ve created at PNC called the Minority Business Development Group. That organization is 100 percent dedicated to providing dedicated bankers and resources to Black and Brown businesses throughout the country.”
Harris then took over the helm of Community Development Banking in PNC’s Greater Maryland market. The group serves low- to moderate-income communities by investing in economic development, affordable housing and community service projects. It also provides free financial education.
Under his leadership, the group has deployed capital to developers, like Beloved Community Services Corp. Led by the Rev. Alvin C. Hathaway, the organization is restoring the family home of civil rights activist Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. and the law office of his wife, Juanita Jackson Mitchell.
The group also invested $3 million in Baltimore Community Lending to support loans for minority businesses and real estate developers.
Harris’ team is creating workforce development opportunities for returning citizens and older adults to secure gainful employment. They’ve collaborated with organizations, like the Job Opportunities Task Force, the Center for Workforce Inclusion and Baltimore Corps. This year, the group is heavily focused on addressing affordable housing in the region.
“We want to deploy more capital. I want to connect with more developers and provide equity to projects that are doing to transform our communities,” said Harris. “Long term, our end game is to have contributed to wealth-building in our communities. We want to look back 10 years from now and say we played a part in making a generational impact throughout our region.”
When former colleague Eugene Allen came to PNC, he wanted to become more entrenched in the community. He was quickly directed to Harris for support.
The pair worked together to increase supplier diversity at the bank, going into communities to talk to entrepreneurs about doing business with PNC. Harris became Allen’s mentor.
“Ramsey was integral in terms of me finding my niche, and he talked to the regional leaders about my work,” said Allen. “It got to the point where I was known for not just being in the community but adding to the bank’s bottom line.”
Allen said Harris was an earnest leader.
“You know he’s guiding you because of the love for what he does but also the love he has for you as an individual, the love he has for the company as an organization and the love he has for his community,” said Allen.
Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.
