Every two years or so, we round up the best places to work in the Baltimore region. This year, we actually considered skipping it. After all, isn’t any job a good job these days? Can people actually afford to be selective in a recession? In a word, yes. It turns out that many of the best companies to work for around town are also some of the most financially sound. (A coincidence? We think not—a happy employee is a productive employee. And an employer who understands that fundamental fact is already in the habit of making good decisions.) Better news still: Every single employer listed in our story is hiring. So whether you’re clutching a pink slip and pondering your next move, contemplating a career change, or just curious, read on to learn more about the best places for Baltimore’s best and brightest. You’ll be happy to know that, even in these trying economic times, there’s still room for a foosball table in the employee lounge.

Merkle

Location: Headquartered in Columbia Employees: 1,100 nationwide; 450 at Maryland headquarters
Who they are: A database marketing company
What we love: Nice building, “Dream Grants,” big rewards

If you’ve always wanted to climb a mountain, go dog sledding, or test your survival skills in the wilderness but can’t imagine finding the time or money to make it happen, Merkle has your answer: “Dream Grants.” The program lets employees tackle a new experience or adventure, without having to shell out big bucks themselves.

How it works: Through Dream Grants, Merkle sends one employee or group of employees per quarter on an adventure of their choice, whether it’s swimming with sharks in Costa Rica or climbing Mount Rainier.

Merkle also lets employees follow their dreams for higher education. The company has a tuition reimbursement program that pays 100 percent of tuition and Merkle University,

an in-house education and training program led by CEO David Williams and seven other Merkle employees, passes along knowledge on key business topics. There’s also an employee referral program that shells out up to $5,000 for employees who bring others on board, and the usual benefits: a 401(k) with employer match; comprehensive health, dental, and vision (Merkle pays the bulk of the premiums); and flexible scheduling.

Merkle also spoils high-performers: Each year, the winner of the Chairman’s Award gets a two-year lease on a new BMW. But even if you’re not driving a swank new Bimmer, you still get to work in nice surroundings. Merkle’s gleaming Columbia headquarters, completed in June 2008, boasts plenty of open space, ample outdoor patios, casual lounge spaces with plasma TVs, wireless Internet access, XM satellite radio, a cafe and coffee bar (with free fountain drinks, coffee, and espresso machines), a company store, and pool and foosball tables. And for healthy types, there’s an onsite gym and fitness classes.

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HOW TO BE LAYOFF PROOF (almost)
When it comes to protecting yourself against layoffs, there’s good news and there’s bad news. We’ll start with the bad. “I don’t think there’s any surefire way of making yourself layoff proof,” says recruiter Chuck Sudina, president of Timonium-based Sudina Search. “There are going to be a lot of things that are just beyond your control.” Now for the good news: There’s plenty you can do to help ensure that when it comes time to hand out the pink slips, you’re not at the top of the list. Ultimately it all boils down to “making yourself as marketable as you can be,” he says. Some tips on just how to do that:
Be visible: “This is probably not the time to go on an extended vacation and not be around,” says Jodi Hume, an executive coach with The Business of Life. Instead, you want to make a concerted effort to show your value to your employer and even to those outside your company or field. “Being known as an expert in your field is gold,” says Hume. Volunteer to speak at industry meetings or to use your business skills in the community. The more you can make your skills visible to others, the more opportunities you’ll have.
Make money, Or save money: In a recession, employers focus on jobs and people who either bring in more revenue or have skills that can save them money. Even if your job doesn’t directly involve bringing in money or saving money, you can help by “thinking about your job as if it were your business,” says Hume. “Really take ownership and make yourself totally invaluable.”
Make, and keep, connections: You might only seriously consider attending those trade association happy hours when you’re in a job hunt, but networking “is something people should be doing all the time,” says Hume. And don’t forget to network with the people who know the job market best: recruiters. “It makes sense to have a relationship with a recruiter,” says Sudina. That means that throughout your career when recruiters call, you should be friendly and helpful, even if you’re not looking to switch jobs. When you do move, reconnect with recruiters, past employees, and colleagues to let them know where you’ve landed. It can be as simple as sending a quick e-mail to update them.
Upgrade your skill set: “If you’re close to a college degree, get your degree. If you need certain certifications in a given field, do everything you possibly can to get them,” says Sudina. You might also consider picking up skills in areas of job growth: Right now, jobs in healthcare, IT, engineering, and sales are still relatively hot.
Move carefully: For most people, job-hopping isn’t going to be very tempting in today’s climate. In fact, in one recent survey by Accenture Ltd., only 13 percent of respondents said they were actively looking for a job, down from 30 percent in 2005. That’s because the recession makes people think twice about leaving a sure thing, no matter how imperfect it may be. But that doesn’t mean you should stay put under any circumstances. First, carefully investigate your prospective new employer for financial stability. And consult with the experts, says Sudina. “Call a search firm and say you’re considering making a move,” he suggests. “A good recruiter is going to tell you to stay put or point out 3 or 4 or 5 good options that may be available to you.”

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BENEFIT STATS: HEALTH
Percentage of companies offering these benefits nationally:
Prescription drug coverage: 96%
Dental coverage: 94%
Vision coverage: 78%
Employee Assistance Program: 75%
Mental health coverage: 75%
Dependent-care flex. spending account: 75%
Long-term care insurance: 45%
Healthcare insurance for part-timers: 39%
Domestic partner health benefits: 36%
Healthcare benefits for retirees: 32%

By Jess Blumberg, Ken Iglehart, Rebecca Kirkman, Christianna McCausland, and Christine Stutz with additional writing by Ron Cassie. Photography by Christopher Myers.

Timothy Barnhill, 39

architect

There was a clue to Timothy Barnhill’s fate as a boy: “For me, it was all about Legos,” he says. “I was constantly building things.” Now, when you scan Baltimore’s architectural landscape, the Hord Coplan Macht principal’s work is everywhere: His biggest clients are hospitals and retirement homes, but he’s designed scads of offices and a few restaurants, too (like the Ravens executive offices and Rusty Scupper). So when the Homeland father of two drives his kids (ages 7 and 9) around town, can they recognize dad’s projects? “They do,” says Barnhill. (Yes, he’s related: the nephew of the late investment banker Gregory H.) “My son’s more into it than my daughter, and he’s actually gone on job sites with me over the years.”

Hannah Brancato, 28

feminist activist

Hannah Brancato is dead serious about changing American attitudes about rape. Through a variety of bold “art actions”—such as the Monument Quilt installation planned for the National Mall in Summer 2014—she seeks to “upset the culture of rape and promote a culture of consent.” A 2011 MFA graduate of MICA, Brancato was deeply affected by the issues of sexual assault and domestic violence while working at the House of Ruth. In 2010, she co-created FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, a performance and art cooperative to foster frank conversation about these issues. “I was inspired by the possibility that art could be an effective way to change the culture,” she says.

Mike Brenner, 29

tech entrepreneur

Mike Brenner planned to live in Baltimore for one year then move West to “live the technology dream.” Instead, he funded an exciting group of web professionals and fell in love with the city. “Baltimore is a place where you can create new solutions and new ways of solving traditional problems, be it health care or education,” he says. “An area like San Francisco has a very well-developed culture, whereas in Baltimore I could be part of a creative class that’s helping define what this city looks like.” Brenner’s latest contribution is Betamore, a for-profit technology incubator, for which he is co-founder and CEO. Brenner calls it a “learning environment” as it is a hub for work, classes, talks by regional thought leaders, and mentoring. Through its Academy and Betamore Works initiatives, Brenner says they’re connecting their classroom grads with jobs.

Jeff Breslin, 30

youth advocate

Jeff Breslin sees his work with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation as “helping at-risk kids to understand that they have choices in life.” As vice president for programs, Breslin manages Badges for Baseball, which brings together police officers and youngsters to play ball, and is involved with the Youth Development Park Initiative, which builds synthetic turf fields in inner-city communities. “Our belief is if you give kids a chance to be involved in something positive, they’ll see that they can think about their future in a positive way,” he says. An active volunteer with several children’s charities, he says his drive comes from growing up with cystic fibrosis. “Sometimes I have to work twice as hard as other people,” he says.

Lindsay Buscher, 36

storeowner

Although Lindsay Busher opened her first Urban Chic boutique in Georgetown, she considers herself a Baltimore girl at heart. “It’s more me when it comes to style,” she says. At the store’s Harbor East location, she makes a point of carrying local designers, noting people underestimate the city’s style savvy. For Buscher, it’s about more than just fashion. She views Urban Chic as a platform to give back to the communities that have made the boutiques so successful. The annual Urban Chic fashion show, for example, benefits the American Visionary Art Museum. “Every morning I wake up lucky enough to have this company and to do this job that I love,” she says.

Jason Corace, 37

game designer

The first video game Jason Corace ever played was an Intellivision bowling game while helping care for his sick father for several months as a boy. Now, he’s an interactive media artist and game designer, having joined MICA’s Interactive Arts department in 2009 after working and teaching in design technology, game programming, and game-design strategy in New York. So why isn’t he working for 23k Games or Activision? “A lot of my work is more art-focused,” Corace says. “When it comes to games, I want to take a broad approach to them. If you’re working for a major company, there’s a couple of top people doing design, and most everyone else gets pigeon-holed designing help screens or something.”

Bill Ferguson, 30

state senator

Working in Baltimore City through Teach For America changed the trajectory of Bill Ferguson’s life from the career on Wall Street he’d anticipated to one in urban education. After stints as a teacher and administrator, he decided politics was the best way to effect change. Elected to represent the 46th district in 2010, Ferguson was involved in the passage of the 21st Century School Facilities Initiative that will build new city schools and renovate more—the largest investment in city schools infrastructure in 75 years. He advocates for early education, too: “Universal pre-K across Maryland would be one of the best public investments that could be made to ensure all children have access to equal opportunity.”

James C. Foster, 34

cyber security

James C. Foster took his first polygraph at age 15 (for an NSA internship) and has been hooked on security ever since. His first paycheck from the sale of a successful startup made him a serial entrepreneur. His latest security software company, Riskive, launched in January and is winning awards and drawing the attention of the mayor and governor, not to mention workers being recruited from Austin, New York, and the West Coast. A frequent lecturer, Foster speaks to high schools about how to start a business and works with parents, educating them about protecting kids online. Foster stays enthralled by cyber security because “you have the ability to save lives and safeguard organizations from being hacked.”

Jess Gartner, 26

education finance entrepreneur

Raised in an affluent New Jersey suburb, Jess Gartner was obsessed with two things: the city and new school supplies. So it’s no wonder that Gartner ended up in Baltimore (via Teach For America) and founded Allovue, which develops school financial-management software. “During my first year of teaching, we ran out of paper,” she says. “Meanwhile, I knew other schools that had iPad programs.” Gartner realized that a new budgetary model left it up to already over-burdened principals to determine school budgets, so she developed cloud-based software (which will replace the dinosaurs of Excel and Quickbooks) to help them organize finances. The Hollins Market resident is rolling out Allovue’s pilot program in eight to 10 Baltimore and D.C.-area schools this fall.

Chad Gauss, 33

chef and restaurateur

At The Food Market’s first birthday, 10 local chefs were there to celebrate. That camaraderie says something about the restaurant’s reputation in the community—and something about its chef and owner, Chad Gauss. “I’m trying to cook for you, Gordon Ramsay, and my mother all in the same night,” he says. That’s why Gauss creates dishes that are both approachable and impressive, a vision that has caused him to be embraced by foodies in Baltimore for both his restaurant and his newest venture, The Food Truck 450. All this and Gauss is just getting started. With dozens of new concepts on his mind at any given time, it seems it won’t be long before a new one comes to life.

Kevin R. Harris, 29

political communications director

Kevin R. Harris was 14 when he discovered a passion for public service. Helping his mother deliver hot meals to seniors in his native Bessemer, AL, Harris saw the struggles of people on fixed incomes. “I saw the the impact that folks in government can have on people’s daily lives,” he says. After studying journalism at Howard University and government at The Johns Hopkins University, he worked for then-Sen. Barack Obama on his 2008 presidential campaign and in his first-term administration. Last month, he moved to Baltimore to become Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s policy and communications director. “I wanted to work for a mayor because they are even closer to the ground,” he says. “It doesn’t get any closer than a mayor.”

Jacob Hodes, 32

private investment analyst

Jacob Hodes always wanted to be a congressman, but with time he realized that he could make more of an impact supporting community by fostering successful business development, which he now does as co-head of Brown Advisory’s private equity division. He also believes in the power of libraries, a lesson handed down from his mother, and is the board chair of Pratt Contemporaries at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. “Libraries are at a crossroads,” he states. “It’s important to preserve them so people of all walks of life have a place to go.” Through his board work with The Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies, he takes part in a dialogue to end hatred and improve interfaith understanding.

Melissa Hyatt, 37

area police commander

Lt. Col. Melissa Hyatt stands out in the Baltimore City Police Department for lots of reasons: The 16-year veteran and daughter of a police major served seven years with the SWAT team, has a master’s degree in management from The Johns Hopkins University, and was chosen to participate in both a United Nations training program in Sweden and the 10-week FBI National Academy. And, after only seven months of managing the Central District, she was promoted to Lt. Colonel, serving as one of three area commanders. But the marathon runner (who also helps coordinate lacrosse programs) does get some free time. “Honestly, I love just relaxing with family and friends or taking my dog for a run—low-key, relaxing things where I can decompress a little.”

Jason Kalirai, 35

astrophysicist

Growing up in the remote town of Quesnel, British Columbia, Jason Kalirai always had an impeccable view of the stars. After an 11th-grade physics class, he was hooked on astrophysics, which he studied at the University of British Columbia. After a post at the University of California, Santa Cruz, he wound up at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. Kalirai studies the life cycles of stars, gives astronomy lectures to kids once a month, and is helping build the James Webb Space Telescope (the Hubble’s successor), which is the size of a tennis court and will be 100 times more powerful than its predecessor when it launches in 2018. “We’ll be able to look at planets that are going around other stars and figure out their atmospheres,” says the Ellicott City resident. “Essentially answering, ‘Are we alone in the universe?’”

Chase Kalisz, 19

collegiate swimmer

Bel Air native Chase Kalisz says the reason he started swimming at the age of 3 was simple: “My parents needed to put me somewhere while my mom was pregnant with my little brother.” I bet they’re glad they did. Now Kalisz trains at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) under the direction of Coach Bob Bowman—yes, the same club and coach as Michael Phelps—and just returned from the FINA World Championships in Barcelona, where he earned a silver medal in the 400-meter IM. When he’s not traveling the world or in the pool at NBAC, Kalisz is studying business at the University of Georgia—but he never strays far from his passion. “The ultimate goal is Rio,” he says, referring to the 2016 Summer Olympics.

John LaMattina, 36

liver transplant surgeon

Good news for you prospective organ donors: You don’t have to be dead to help Dr. John LaMattina. The University of Maryland Medical Center’s director of living donor liver transplants (and licensed pilot of fixed-wing and rotary aircraft) can take a portion of kidney or liver from a donor to save a patient, something only a handful of docs in the world are trained to do. A memorable case came early in his career at Maryland. “It was our first living donor case at Maryland—a very young woman with total liver failure, getting sicker before our eyes,” LaMattina recalls. After futile calls to area donor centers, her boyfriend stepped up as the donor. “They’re both doing fine now.”

Sean Lane, 33

military tech CEO

After doing five tours as an intelligence officer in the military, Sean Lane realized there was a need for more software out on the front lines. So, in 2008, he founded Battlefield Telecommunications Systems (BTS), which develops mobile, telecom systems for the military. After that he started OmniScience Technology Partners to invest in other startups (like Parking Panda and SocialToaster). He’s also the co-founder of Betamore and Digital Harbor Foundation, which teaches tech courses to kids. But the Inner Harbor resident says his main passion remains in military technology. “The military has all of this data that it started gathering a decade ago with the war on terror,” he says. “I wanted to start a company to handle all of that data in a high volume.”

Beth Laverick, 31

event manager

Renaissance woman might be an understatement. Butchers Hill resident Beth Laverick is the event manager for Waterfront Partnership (the organization’s first full-time employee), where she plans dozens of family-friendly waterfront events a year and is also the events coordinator for the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance (DBFA). On top of that, she runs the Baltimore franchise of Wonder Sitter, a high-end babysitting service. (“It’s almost like Uber for kids.”) Additionally, she moderates the Southeast Community listserv, volunteers with the Friends of Patterson Park, and raises her two kids (2 and 4). And she has no plans of slowing down. “I’m not leaving the city,” she says. “And it’s my mission to keep other families here, too.”

Brooke E. Lierman, 34

civil rights attorney

When she was nine months pregnant, Brooke E. Lierman stood for hours to represent a community group—pro bono—in a hearing with the city’s liquor board. Helping neighborhoods close irresponsible bars is just one cause about which Lierman is passionate. As an associate at Brown, Goldstein & Levy, she does civil-rights litigation, working on issues of disability, fair housing, and better treatment of low-wage workers. Inspired by the dysfunction she saw through work and her frustration as a member of the Fells Point Residents Association, she’s running for state delegate for the 46th district. “I think Baltimore is an underdog and I love to fight for an underdog,” she says, “We’re ready and want it to be the city we all aspire for it to be.”

Jennifer Lockhart, 36

nurse and practice administrator

Growing up, Jennifer Lockhart admired her mom’s nursing work at Health Care for the Homeless and Bon Secours. The apple didn’t fall far, as Lockhart has been an OB/GYN nurse at Johns Hopkins for 14 years, ascending from staff nurse to coordinator. During her career, she traveled with doctors to Ecuador, Guatemala, and Colombia to assist with various GYN surgeries. Now she manages two clinics for Hopkins Community Physicians in Wyman Park and Odenton. Lockhart is also the vice chair for the United Way of Central Maryland’s young professionals group. “I’d like to see everybody be more responsible for their health care,” she says. “People should take advantage of the two big powerhouses we have right here in the city.”

Kevin Lynch, 32

new media founder

Since launching his news website SouthBmore.com in 2012, Kevin Lynch has gotten hundreds of e-mails from locals thanking him for providing easily accessible information about their neighborhood. “We’re taking all those conversations at the bar, at the dog park, and on the street, and bringing them online,” he says. What started as a hobby has become critical as hyper-local coverage shrinks at larger newspapers. While other sites can “look like a police blotter,” Lynch aims to provide visibility to positive things happening in South Baltimore’s vibrant, entrepreneurial community. And the concept doesn’t stop there. Someday, Lynch hopes to expand the model to other areas throughout the city.

Hyeseung Marriage-Song, 35

artist and professor

At Hyeseung Marriage-Song’s Bolton Hill row home, you might find a roboticist, astronomer, and an installation artist engaged in lively conversation over dinner. A transplant from the Manhattan art scene, Marriage-Song describes herself as a connector. “I see my role as appreciating Baltimore for what it is, and pushing it to what it could be,” she says. With her husband, a cosmology professor at Hopkins, the artist has the ability to bring together the city’s scientific and artistic communities, hosting reading groups and informal salons in her home. While the spark might ignite between MICA and Hopkins, Marriage-Song wants to light a fire within every Baltimorean. She sees her contribution as “trying to, wherever I go, electrify [the city] in my own way.”

Jennifer Meyer, 36

economic development leader

Attracting new businesses and jobs to the region is her game, and non-stop is her name: Sure, Jennifer Meyer has her hands full as COO of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, but then there’s also teaching at Loyola University, co-organizing the Ignite Baltimore and TEDxBaltimore speaking series, and teaching financial education in public schools, plus involvement in Casey Cares, the Bea Gaddy Foundation, and the Digital Harbor High School. So which of these really gets her blood pumping? (Speaking of pumping blood, she also coaches at CrossFit gym.) “Teaching is a big thing for me,” says Meyer. (The former Jen Gunner was married in April.) “If I can make a difference in someone’s life in a small way, that’s huge.”

Wes Moore, 35

author and youth advocate

While on a study program in South Africa, Wes Moore got a call from his mother telling him that there were wanted posters in their neighborhood with his name on them. Thus begins the story of Rhodes Scholar Wes Moore and another Wes Moore, just blocks from him, who would be sentenced to life in prison. Moore turned these parallel lives into a book, The Other Wes Moore, which is being adapted into a film produced by Oprah Winfrey and HBO. He also works with youth in the criminal justice system and aims to attract and retain talent in the city. “There’s a very thin line that divides all of us,” says Moore, who lives in Guilford with his expectant wife and daughter. “I want to show young people that second chances do become last chances.”

Evan Morville, 35

real-estate developer

When college freshman Evan Morville responded to an ad in the Towson Times to clean a boat, he didn’t know his life would change forever. The boat owners were real-estate developers at Southern Land Company, where he ended up working for the next 12 years. Then, in 2005, at a dinner party, again by chance, he met Donald and Thibault Manekin who started Seawall Development Corp. three years later and brought on Morville as partner and principal. Working with Teach For America, Seawall renovates old buildings to provide housing for teachers and office space for nonprofits, like the Baltimore Urban Debate League. So far, they have developed Miller’s Court in Remington and Union Mill in Hampden. “We don’t want to do it like our fathers,” the Mt. Washington resident says. “We want to use real estate to affect social change.”

Marilyn Mosby, 33

prosecutor

Now that she’s a candidate for Baltimore state’s attorney, you’ll hear a lot about Marilyn Mosby—about how both of her parents, grandfather, two aunts, and three uncles were Boston police officers; about her years as an assistant state’s attorney; and about her commitment to safe neighborhoods. Mosby married her Tuskegee University sweetheart, City Councilman Nick Mosby, and together they rehabbed a Reservoir Hill shell where they live with their two girls. Policy-wise, she emphasizes repeat offenders and working with victim’s families and witnesses. “When I was 14, my cousin was killed on his doorstep over a pair of sneakers,” she says. “It’s only because a witness came forward that the guy is off the streets.”

Shalita O’Neale, 30

foster youth advocate

After growing up in foster care and group homes, Shalita O’Neale dedicated herself to helping young people make the difficult transition from the foster system to independent living as adults. As founder of Maryland Foster Youth Resource Center (MFYRC), O’Neale is a passionate evangelist for the needs of this at-risk population. MFYRC provides mentoring, life-skills classes, help finding work and housing, and grants for expenses such as food, utilities, bus fare, and rent. How did O’Neale emerge unscathed from such a difficult childhood? “What really helped me was the mentors I met along the way,” she says. “If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Mark Parker, 31

pastor

Rev. Mark Parker became pastor of Breath of God Lutheran Church in 2009 and set out to reinvigorate the 109-year-old institution, formerly St. Paul Lutheran, whose worship attendance had dwindled to about 25. He wanted the church to reflect the increasingly diverse Patterson Park neighborhood and ignite dialogue, and unity among its parishioners. With his welcoming demeanor and a knack for building partnerships, he has succeeded (there are now 160 active members). “The church is about as fully integrated as you can get into community,” he says. “Whether [our neighbors] are interested in going to church or not, they see Breath of God as a place that belongs to them.”

Jason Reed, 29

urban agriculturalist

Jason Reed was born on a 4-H farm before eventually ending up in Baltimore to study composition at Peabody Conservatory. After being let go from a teaching position, he used his green thumb to start the Filbert Street Garden in Curtis Bay, a green space for residents and schools (Curtis Bay Elementary/Middle and Ben Franklin High). Elementary classes are taught by middle-school kids, who keep a harvest calendar, which turns into a farmers’ market run by the high schoolers. Students have come a long way from when Reed started, and they didn’t know what carrots looked like. “The result now is a community-managed food source centered around a learning space,” he says.

Christopher Sachse, 32

IT entrepreneur

Christopher Sachse says he wants to be a serial entrepreneur, and he’s well on his way. He started his first company when he was 19, launched Horsetail Technologies—an IT outsource company for regulated industries—two years ago, and has two new businesses getting started. While he’s full of business ideas, he also wants to play a role in breaking what he calls “The Wire mentality” outsiders have of Baltimore. Until he can create his own mentoring foundation, he supports Year Up, an education and internship program for under-served youth, hosting interns and teaching. “I like to teach a person to fish,” he says. “That will continue to perpetuate the growth of the city.”

Sophia Silbergeld, 32

political fundraiser

Sophia Silbergeld knows that political fundraising gets a bad rap, but, “you’re working for people you know and believe in and new people, challengers in elections, or issue campaigns like the Dream Act, so it’s always exciting.” A Quaker born to politically active parents, she now works as the senior fundraising associate for Martin-Lauer Associates and was particularly happy to be chosen treasurer and a lead fundraiser for the Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign. She puts her know-how to work outside the office on The Walters Art Museum Government Relations Committee, and, in her free time, she’s learning to knit for the 500 Hats Project, which donates winter hats to city school children.

Blake Smith, 28

restaurateur

Everybody likes pizza. It’s why Blake Smith started his entrepreneurial career with Bagby Pizza Co. in 2009. The Harbor East pizza shop’s success led to two neighboring restaurants: the casual fine-dining joint TEN TEN in 2011, and the upscale Fleet Street Kitchen in 2012. Together, these three have made their mark on Baltimore’s culinary scene. What sets them apart is Smith’s commitment to local ingredients, most of which come from the group’s own Cunningham Farms in Cockeysville. Inspired by the farm, the newest venture, Cunningham’s, opens next month in Towson. But Smith says his firstborn is still his passion. “I’m most proud of the pizza shop,” he says. “I still run that place myself, without any managers.”

Torrey Smith, 24

NFL wide receiver

Though Torrey Smith has only been a Raven since 2011, he already feels like a mainstay. Last season alone, the University of Maryland grad had eight touchdown receptions, including two TD’s in a division playoff game that led to a double-overtime-win against the Broncos. His Baltimore-based Torrey Smith Foundation works with at-risk youth and those affected by domestic violence. During the off-season, Smith worked for several weeks as an unpaid intern in the office of U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings. “Football doesn’t last forever,” Smith says. “So I like to see what else is out there. I learned more about the government and how much your congressmen really do to help the community.”

Brian Strumke, 37

independent beer brewer

Brian Strumke wasn’t the biggest beer fan, so, nine years ago, he started home brewing in his Conkling Street backyard to make something he actually liked. Inspired by Belgian-style beers at The Brewer’s Art, Strumke founded Stillwater Artisanal, which released its first beer in 2010. Within six months (and after being named the world’s second-best brewer by RateBeer.com), Strumke quit his full-time job at Hopkins. Stillwater is now distributed to 35 states, 75 percent of Europe, and to Singapore, Australia, Brazil, and New Zealand. But Strumke hasn’t forgotten his roots—he opened gastropub Of Love & Regret last year, on the same block where he began brewing in the first place. “It makes it very poetic,” he says.

Mike Subelsky, 36

entrepreneur

Mike Subelsky first experienced what he calls Baltimore’s “can-do, supportive attitude” when he co-founded the Baltimore Improv Group in 2003. “I’ll always think of Baltimore as a place where any creative ambition I had was magnified 1,000 times,” he says. And his ambitions didn’t stop there: Subelsky’s founding roles in Baltimore Hackathon and Ignite Baltimore brought him to the center of the city’s tech community, in which he’s founded a number of companies, including his latest venture STAQ, an advertising technology firm. Now, Subelsky’s goal is to bring his passion to the next generation. “Software is disrupting so many industries in America,” he says. “We need more people who can code.”

Ashley Valis, 31

Governor’s assistant chief of staff

Ashley Valis is a true testament to rising up the ranks. The University of Maryland social work grad started on then-Mayor Martin O’Malley’s gubernatorial campaign as a volunteer, then volunteer coordinator, then wound up in the intergovernmental affairs office (for which she became deputy director), and now is the governor’s assistant chief of staff, focused on restoring the Bay and combating climate change. “It’s pretty non-sexy stuff,” she says. “Touring a Back River waste-water treatment plant is just another day.” Though O’Malley is only in office for 16 more months, the Ridgley’s Delight resident says she wants to remain in public affairs. “I still want to make a case for a good cause,”

Adam Van Bavel, 34

philanthropist

“It always starts this way for me,” says Adam Van Bavel, discussing his bid for Baltimore City Council. “I want to get involved a little bit and end up doing pretty much the most you can do.” Though he has a day job (doing marketing sales at Vocus), Van Bavel is best known for the work that doesn’t come with a paycheck—whether it’s fighting to improve Baltimore by being a write-in candidate, becoming director of the Pigtown Festival, or even growing facial hair to raise money for city schools through Mustaches for Kids. Seeing more potential for networking events, he just launched BmoreLocal to unite businesses, nonprofits, and individuals from different walks of life.

Jessica Watson, 30

graphic designer

Jessica Watson knew she was an outside-of-the-box thinker when she was a sophomore at McDaniel College and she turned her dorm into an art gallery—where students bought art off the walls. So it’s no surprise that she now owns JWatson Creative, a design studio that builds brands, websites, and marketing campaigns. Watson also heads up B’More Creatives, a networking and support group for women in the creative profession. “We have a lot of great talent in Baltimore,” she says. “The one thing we have to do better is connect the dots.” Currently, Watson is traveling the country, scoping out other cities’ creative scenes and chronicling the whole thing on her website’s Design By Travel blog.

Rochelle L. Williams, 32

educational researcher

Rochelle L. Williams is unimpressed by media’s representation of women and hopes to be a better role model. “You don’t have to keep up with the Kardashians, and what you see on Basketball Wives is not reality,” she says. “It really scares me when I turn on the TV, and I know this is what little girls are watching.” Williams advocates for women and under-represented populations in STEM careers through her work at ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology), by tutoring high schoolers, and as a member of The National Society of Black Engineers’ Public Policy Interest Group. She strategically bought her first house in the redeveloping Preston Place neighborhood so she could make an impact. “I don’t need to be in the ‘hottest’ area of Baltimore, but in the area where I think I’m needed.”

Andres Zapata, 37

advertising executive

Coming to the United States from Colombia made Andres Zapata aware of cultural differences. “I’m fascinated by culture—how it works or doesn’t, how you can influence action, change behavior, or celebrate certain aspects of culture,” he explains. Integrated advertising agency IDFive, where Zapata serves as executive vice president, taps the cultural zeitgeist using digital analytics to revolutionize communications, but that isn’t enough to keep him enthralled. He teaches at MICA (and has recruited employees from his classes) and self-published several books, including The Recession Nation, an artistic perspective on the recession. When he couldn’t find a version of a Colombian children’s story for his son, he simply recreated one; Los Pollitos has since been downloaded more than 33,000 times from iTunes.

Nicole Doenges strolls onto the water taxi, sits on a plastic bench,
leans back, and watches the Canton shore fade from view. No blaring car
horns or wailing sirens pollute the air, no construction zones or red
lights impede progress.

The gentle hum of the boat’s motor, the reflection of bright sunshine
off the calmly lapping blue water, and the sound of seagulls calling
out as they glide through the sky are the soundtrack of her morning
commute.

This is rush hour?

“It’s a really relaxing way to get my day started,” says Doenges, 26,
who certainly looks anything but stressed. “I don’t even use my car
most of the week.”

She’s one of a half-dozen Under Armour employees aboard on this sunny
but brisk May morning. They’re all young, fit, and sporting at least
one item with the familiar interlocking UA logo that has become as
inescapable in Baltimore as Natty Bohs and Old Bay.

Like Microsoft in Seattle, FedEx in Memphis, and Ford in Detroit, Under Armour has become a part of its home city’s fabric.

The boat heads west toward Tide Point, where they used to make
detergent. Now, they spend their days making would-be athletes like you
and me better.

Some of the passengers hold travel coffee thermoses or their phones.
Most clutch both. Doenges, a graphic designer, has a yoga mat with her.
There’s a company-sponsored class after work, one of the many perks, she
says, that definitely elevate the job.

The Water Taxi, free to the public and paid for in part by her
employer, is another. Fifteen minutes after it leaves Canton Waterfront
Park, it reaches Locust Point. Doenges grabs her bag, smiles, and says,
“Thanks, Lar,” to Capt. Larry Pinker, and sets off up the gleaming metal
pier toward the campus where a company is transforming a city.

Or is it the other way around?

By now the microfiber-to-riches story of Kevin Plank
and Under Armour has become the stuff of business-school legend. In
1995, Plank, special teams captain for the University of Maryland
football team, noticed that the cotton T-shirts his teammates wore under
their jerseys constantly were drenched in sweat. Thinking there must be
a better way, he created a prototype that wicked moisture and kept the
athletes cool and dry. Working from his grandmother’s Washington, D.C.,
row house, Plank started the company he’s built into a
multi-billion-dollar behemoth.

Under Armour’s move to Baltimore was based partly on strategy, partly
on practicality, and partly on gut instinct. In 1999,the company signed
Georgia Tech as its first major client. It needed to leave grandma’s,
and fast. Plank, a Kensington native who, like so much of the non-Hon
speaking world, associated Baltimore primarily with the Orioles, Colts,
and the Inner Harbor, essentially was a free agent.

“We were getting pushed to places that people thought were suitable
for us, like out in Springfield, VA,” Plank says. “But my partner who
had just joined me, Kip Fulks [now COO], was a lacrosse player, and I
was thinking we should own lacrosse. Baltimore was a hotbed for that. I
had been here a few times when I was in school. The mayor [Governor
Martin O’Malley] was this energetic guy from D.C. There were a lot of
things that felt compelling.”

After meeting with a friendly landlord, Plank sealed the deal on his move to a 2,400-square-foot space on South Sharp Street.

“It was myself, Kip, a bookkeeper, and another person who answered
phones,” Plank recalls of those early years. “If we had someone
visiting, I’d hire my friends to come in and sit in chairs behind rented
computers and act like they were doing work.”

Enough got done that Under Armour quickly outgrew that space and
moved to a 15,000-square-foot facility on Bush Street in Pigtown. By
2003, the company was bursting at the seams and signed a deal to move to
the waterfront in Tide Point. Leaving the city, Plank says, was never
an option.

“When I looked at the factors, the culture and identity of Baltimore
is one of the things that attracted me as much as anything else,” he
says. “We wanted to build a hard-edged, blue-collar company, and that
attitude fit with what Baltimore was. We had a chip on our shoulder. I
think our city still does, and I think our company does.”

In the former Proctor & Gamble plant, Under Armour’s 25 or so
employees occupied about 20,000-square-feet. As the company continued to
grow, it gobbled up office space vacated by departing tenants. In 2011,
it bought the facility for a reported $58 million and almost
immediately mapped out an ambitious expansion plan. Today, 1,300 of its
employees occupy six buildings on the campus.

“We’ve seen every inch of this city,” Plank says. “Bush Street was
cool. The day we moved we threw a big block party with keg stands and
the whole nine yards. We played ‘Movin’ On Up’ from The Jeffersons. We
moved from across a scrap metal yard to the lap of luxury. We tell our
people that this campus should be the center of energy for our company
globally. We’ve stuck a flag in the ground here.”

Larger-than-life photos of Under Armour athletes
greet visitors who pass through the front doors of the Ivory Building.
(Each building in Tide Point is named for a Proctor & Gamble
product.) The players—Kemba Walker (basketball), Bryce Harper
(baseball), Sloane Stephens (tennis)—are, perhaps like the company
itself, not yet superstars but hard-working young talents whose best
days are yet to come. In the third-floor lobby, three framed Baltimore
magazine stories proclaiming Under Armour one of the best places to work
in the city hang alongside copies of Plank’s business cards throughout
the years. In the early days, he carried both one that identified him as
the president of the company and one with the title “sales manager.”

Construction is underway on a freestanding visitors center in the middle of the 21-acre campus, but for now, guests report here.

“We thought Tide Point and this city fit our culture and our
company,” says Matt Mirchin, senior vice president of global brand and
sports marketing. “Blue-collar, inner-city tough. When people visit us
for the first time, they say they feel the energy. They say, ‘This is
how we envisioned Under Armour.’”

The workspace for many of the teammates, as Under Armour calls its
employees, is a maze of cubicles and seemingly never-ending racks of
clothing and shoes. There are several open spaces on most of the floors,
which have high ceilings and an industrial feel. Many people have
sports memorabilia surrounding their desks—a South Carolina football
helmet, a University of Utah jersey.

“We don’t have favorite teams,” Mirchin says. “If they’re not an Under Armour team, they don’t exist.”

As Plank’s alma mater and the company’s home state flagship school,
the University of Maryland is perhaps Under Armour’s most visible
client. (There’s a 55-yard replica of its football field on the Tide
Point campus.) In 2011, the company responded to the school’s request to
generate some excitement around the football program, redesigning the
team’s uniforms using the colorful state flag as inspiration. When the
primetime national television audience got its first glimpse during the
opening game, reaction was decidedly mixed.

“OH GOSH. Maryland uniforms. #Ewwwwww!” LeBron James declared on Twitter, where the uniforms were the top trending topic.

“We loved the fact that it generated such buzz,” Mirchin says. “Some
of it was negative, a lot of it was positive, but once you get that
conversation started, people can have their opinions. We loved it, we
thought it accomplished the goal.”

Under Armour employees don’t dress quite so flashy. They can wear
jeans, T-shirts, really anything they want (though you’d be hard-pressed
to find a Nike swoosh). Employees get a 50-percent discount on Under
Armour merchandise.

Each person who passes in the hall is somehow better looking than the
last, and most appear to be in top shape. When a new employee is hired,
they receive $50 a month toward a personal or group training session.
It’s up to the person whether or not to use the service, but a
commitment to physical fitness is strongly encouraged, if not expected.

The Under Armour Combine Training Center is a gym housed in the Tide
Building next door. It’s a state-of-the-art 10,000-square-foot facility
that is open to the general public and UA employees at a discounted
rate. It hosts group fitness classes and competitions, and generally is
packed in the early mornings and after work.

“We try to encourage an active lifestyle because it’s representative
of who we are as a brand,” Mirchin says. “You don’t necessarily need to
be an athlete to work here, but you need to know how to compete, and you
have to hate to lose.”

The campus essentially is divided by railroad tracks, on which
several freight trains pass through weekly. CSX sends an e-mail to
employees alerting them to a forthcoming train, which can take up to 45
minutes to chug by. Expansion plans call for a pedestrian overpass
(which will be 100 yards, the idea being for employees to sprint across
it) to connect the waterfront portion of the campus to the other side,
which houses the showrooms, cafeteria, and innovation lab.

Considering all the exercising they do, it’s no
surprise that Under Armour employees crave calories. Many fuel up at the
Humble & Hungry Café, the company’s beloved eatery that serves
everything from sandwiches to sushi.

Each menu item is marked with a color-coded dot. Green denotes
healthy options, like a grilled salmon sandwich ($5.50) or a turkey
burger ($6, with one side). Yellow choices like the Philadelphia roll
($5) or bison burger ($7.50) are iffier, and red, plastered like a
scarlet letter next to items like mac and cheese and fries ($1 each),
are flat-out fattening.

“You can still have them if you’re having a bad day,” Mirchin jokes.

The large bay windows open when the weather is nice, and games
involving Under Armour teams are shown on the big screens. Coffee, tea,
and fountain sodas are free if employees use their own cups.

In another part of the Cheer Building, there’s a basketball court
that hosts pick-up games and tournaments. Hours had to be cut back when
the noise from hypercompetitive games got too disruptive.

Large showrooms allow the company snazzy venues in which to host
clients. Each one is dedicated to a specific market. For example, there
is quickly growing women’s apparel, which Mirchin says is 30 percent of
Under Armour’s business today but soon will be half, and Next, the
company’s name for its children’s line. Each showroom is
named—Dedication, Commitment, Inspiration, Vision, Pride.

“We try to brand everything,” Mirchin says. “People ask me all the
time what makes Under Armour different than our competitors, because
there are a lot of things we don’t have patents on. Anybody can buy the
same fabrics. It’s the people, it’s the culture, and it’s the brand.
When people buy Under Armour, they feel like it protects them and makes
them perform better.”

Much of what they’re purchasing is born in the adjacent innovation
lab. A top-secret facility to which only about 1 percent of the
company’s 6,000 worldwide employees have unfettered access, it’s headed
by Kevin Haley, an easy-going, deep-thinking former collegiate track
athlete and Under Armour’s first general counsel.

“Everything you could possibly want to do to a piece of fabric,
material, or textile, we do here,” says Haley, 44, senior vice president
of innovation. “It’s not enough just to make it look cool. We’ve got to
make sure it works.”

“Make All Athletes Better” declares a metal sign above the 007-like
entrance to the lab. A vascular scanner matches an employee’s ID badge
to the vein pattern on the back of their hand before the door
automatically opens.

Inside is a soaring, bright, multi-story open space, with work
stations on the second level. The lab contains technology ranging from
cutting edge—an environmental chamber that allows testing of apparel in
precise heat, cold, and humidity—to a boring, everyday washing machine.

Products must pass durability, abrasion resistance, and flexibility
tests before they are green lit. Haley occasionally refers to the lab as
the “proving grounds.”

“Sometimes you’ll get something to work, but then you’ve got to get
it through the washer and dryer,” he says. “It’s not too sexy, but it’s
one of the most challenging things we do.”

The company’s latest innovation is Armour39, a workout-monitoring
system that measures, tracks, and analyzes every move an athlete makes
though a module on a chest strap and an iPhone app. Today, engineer Mark
Oleson is testing it in the curtained-off variable-free workout center
on the lab floor.

Wearing shorts and a white Under Armour HeatGear Prototype shirt,
Oleson, 39, has been tracking his WILLpower, a single number calculated
using data collected from the device during a workout. After some
intense full-body exercise on the rowing machine, he does 30-pound curls
and 60-pound shoulder presses before declaring that he has the best job
in America.

“I’m getting paid to work out,” says Under Armour’s director of
product and innovation. He’s got the sweat to prove it. Aside from the
maddening “thinking outside the box,” “work hard and play hard” might be
the most overused, hokey cliché in all of business.

At Under Armour, it actually fits.

In between the yoga classes, basketball games, and cross-training,
Under Armour teammates are expected to complete exemplary work. A whole
lot of it.

“It’s definitely not a nine-to-five culture,” Mirchin says. “When
you’re growing at the rate we are, a lot of times people are doing more
than one job while you’re looking to hire more people. I would say
people here tend to stay later.”

That’s rubbed some former employees the wrong way. One person who
recently left the company after two years said they averaged 65- to
70-hour workweeks.

“We all drank the Kool-Aid,” the former employee says. “They promote a
work-life balance with the gym, the food, lots of fun activities. But
most nights I wouldn’t get home until 10, after my daughter was already
in bed. When you sign up for Under Armour, you know that they expect you
to put them first.”

Plank is very specific about the type of employee the company seeks to hire.

“You’re always looking for leadership,” he says. “I want people who
are going, ‘I was a lacrosse player and my fifth metatarsal was always
bothering me by the end of a game. How can I make a shoe that makes that
better?’ Everyone’s a salesperson for our company. The environment
we’ve created here, you’re treated like an adult, and we expect you to
bring a great attitude.”

When Terry Hickey moved to Locust Point six years
ago, many of his neighbors weren’t even aware Under Armour was
headquartered in Tide Point. By 2011, however, the company was seeking
approval from the Locust Point Civic Association for its expansion plan
that included more office space, parking, and a retail outlet.

“From the beginning, Under Armour was very smart,” says Hickey, now
the civic association’s president. “They avoided the
we’ll-do-this-with-or-without-you approach. I was on the board when this
started, and I can tell you, support certainly wasn’t unanimous. There
were folks who were taken with Under Armour—its jobs, its prestige. On
the other hand, there were people who think any big company is bad. The
folks in the middle realized that we needed to work with them to get a
good outcome.”

The company committed more than $200,000 to the civic association for
improvements to Latrobe Park, an area rec center, and street-scaping
along Fort Avenue. In January 2012, more than 100 members of the
association unanimously voted to support the PUD (Planned Unit
Development) amendments and a separate agreement with Under Armour to
make its neighborhood investments.

Later that year, the city approved $35 million in Tax Increment
Financing for infrastructure upgrades in the area. It will potentially
issue bonds to pay for street and promenade improvements and new
athletic fields for the company and the public. The debt will be repaid
by property taxes generated by the company.

“They’ve done their best to be active community partners and work
with the neighborhood on issues,” said Baltimore City Councilman William
Cole, who represents the area. “It never hurts to have one of these
strong companies with ambitious plans wanting to expand in your city
because they’re bringing in a lot of people to work here. That helps
sustain our tax base.”

Under Armour funnels about $55 million into the state and city
coffers, based in part on its property taxes, taxes paid by its
employees, and tax revenue from its stores, according to a study by
Daraius Irani, executive director of the Regional Economic Studies
Institute at Towson University. That’s a significant figure for a
cash-strapped city. Add the company’s philanthropic exploits—its goal is
to spend $10 million over the next five years on athletic and academic
improvements to local schools (a new football field and 65 computers at
Dunbar High came first) as part of its WIN Baltimore initiative,
according to Mirchin—and it’s easy to see why its neighbors are willing
to stomach increased traffic or tight parking.

“They send somebody to pretty much every one of our monthly community
meetings,” Hickey says. “In that way, I think they’ve been a model.
When construction on the campus really starts in earnest, and if they
have plans to expand outside their campus in the future, there are going
to be some tough conversations and some people leveraged against it,
but I think they’re smartly building a relationship with the
neighborhood.”

Among the most contentious issues in Under Armour’s expansion
negotiations with the Locust Point Civic Association was its plan to
build a retail store on its campus. The company quickly shelved that
idea, deciding instead to open its “Brand House” in the Legg Mason
building in Harbor East.

“We’re a global company, and we’re opening offices all around the
world, but we are proud that Baltimore is our home,” says Henry
Stafford, senior vice president for apparel, outdoors, and accessories.
“We want people to know what we’re capable of, so we’re bringing our
best and brightest products to Baltimore.”

The 6,100-square-foot store has been open since February. Among its
most popular sellers are T-shirts that tap into Baltimoreans’ provincial
love for their neighborhoods. One features a UA logo smacked on the
side of a flamingo, above the word “Hampden.” In keeping with its flair
for the dramatic, there’s a four-sided JumboTron suspended from the
ceiling and a 750-pound carved wooden UA logo hanging on the back wall.

“Whether we open in Baltimore or New York City or Chicago or
Shanghai, we’re from there,” Stafford says. “There’s an element of that
hometown pride, that underdog, in every city. We’re the next great
brand, but we’re always going to be an underdog. We’re always going to
scrap and fight.”

Before it opened, more than 300 people interviewed for the initial 25
store associate positions that Under Armour calls “specialists.”

“I think all things aside, its impact is bigger than its numbers,
because it’s everywhere,” Irani says of the company. “The Under Armour
brand is becoming ubiquitous.”

In many ways, however, it’s still a piranha when compared to the
great white shark that is Nike. In April, Under Armour reported a
23-percent increase in first-quarter sales, to $472 million. Still, its
$2 billion in sales last year was less than one tenth of Nike’s,
according to Sports Illustrated.

“We know who they are, we know what they do, but we play our own
game, and we think we can continue to grow,” Mirchin says. “We just said
publicly that the next three years we’re going to double to $4 billion,
and, if you start worrying about what other people are doing, it’s very
difficult to achieve that.”

But Under Armour has certainly made its mark here. At night, a
reflection from the illuminated freestanding UA sign outside the Harbor
East store shimmers off the water. Light from the Under Armour complex
sign, as Tide Point now officially is known, shines from the other side
of the harbor.

Baltimore’s been branded a company town.

“The big, long-term vision is that some 22-year-old graduating from
college is going to say, ‘I applied to get a job at Under Armour,’”
Plank says. “‘I’ve got a [slim] shot, because it’s the greatest place in
the world to work, but regardless, I’m going to move to Baltimore,
Maryland, because it’s the coolest city in the world.'”

People, you need to face the ugly truth: You haven’t won the lottery yet and, silly you, didn’t marry a Rockefeller, so you’re doomed to, you know, work for a living. But now that we’ve grasped that painful reality, why not work someplace where you really enjoy what you’re doing?

Our mission: Find out where those work places are. This year, though, we approached our task a little differently. In the past, we let the best companies in the region duke it out over what they thought were great comp plans, benefits, and perks. This time, however, we tried to determine first from top national and local recruiters what the employees want most from the boss——be it intellectual stimulation or social benefit, money, room to advance, or icing-on-the-cake benefits like free gym memberships or pet insurance.

The verdict? It isn’t all about money——for the majority, it seems, it’s work satisfaction and life/work balance that matter most. And our list this year reflects that. So, drum roll: Here they are, the Baltimore area’s best places to work, version 2.013——and, as usual, they wouldn’t be on the list if they weren’t hiring.

SPONSORED BY THE MERGIS GROUP

Abilities Network

Location: 8503 LaSalle Rd., Towson and seven other locations. Employees: 140. What they do: Abilities Network serves the disabled with six programs, all community-based, to help clients live and work independently in their homes and communities through job-search and training assistance. Why we like them: This $10-million nonprofit takes particular pains to make sure workers are happy——there’s an annual survey of employees to see what management could do better. Best benefits: 403(b) plan (the nonprofit version of a 401(k)), health benefits, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life, and disability policies, employee-assistance program, tuition reimbursement, and employee-referral bonus.

America’s Remote Help Desk

Location: 6400 Ridge Rd., Ste 308, Eldersburg. Employees: 56 in the Baltimore/Washington area. What they do: They’re a Maryland-based help-desk and infrastructure-management services outfit serving companies of all sizes. Why we like them: For one, they’re not based in New Delhi. But ARHD also offers a lot of opportunity in the IT field to Marylanders who aren’t necessarily the super-geeks being hired by the way-out-there tech firms on this list. Best benefits: 401(k) retirement plan, health-insurance options including medical, dental, and vision, and a flexible work schedule.

Chesapeake Urology Associates

Location: 25 Crossroads Dr., No. 306, Owings Mills (corporate office), plus 16 medical offices and 15 surgical centers. Employees: 414. What they do: CUA is the largest urology practice in the Mid-Atlantic. Why we like them: They’re leaders in the fast-growing health sector, their physicians routinely sweep the urology specialties in our own “Top Doctors” survey, as well as others, and they have a low turnover rate. Best benefits: Full medical and dental, basic life, 401(k) safe-harbor plan (CUA contributes 3 percent of every staffer’s salary regardless of whether they contribute), profit-sharing averaging 1.4 percent of salary, tuition reimbursement offered on day one, and discounts on pet insurance, phone plans, and athletic clubs.

Ciena Corporation

Location: 7035 Ridge Rd., Hanover. Employees: 650 locally, 4,500 globally. What they do: A provider of telecommunications infrastructure technology, software, and services. Why we like them: They’re aggressively recruiting for a number of divisions, have a culture of charitable work, and boast spanking new offices in a LEED-certified building adjacent to an Amtrak/MARC station. The new HQ has an on-site cafeteria and incentives for staffers to use bikes and energy-efficient autos. Best benefits: Full range of medical, dental, and vision policies, plus life and disability insurance, stock-purchase and retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, employee-assistance program, group legal plan, group home and auto insurance, matching charitable contributions, and a history of encouraging employees to get involved in community-service projects.

Columbia Technology Partners

Location: 10015 Old Columbia Rd., Ste. B215, Columbia. Employees: 20. What they do: They’re secret geeks for government: They work on “mission-critical systems and operations to ward off both internal and external threats to national security” with a team of systems engineers, IT security engineers, and whatnot. If they tell us any more, they’ll have to kill us. Why we like them: Staffers say they like management’s open-door policy, and they have great benefits in a recession-proof line of work. (That would be stopping a cyber-attack that could, gasp, take down Facebook for a day.) Best benefits: Medical, dental, and vision premiums paid in full by the company for actual employees (great for you singles), paid life insurance, short- and long-term disability, new employees are 100 percent vested in a 401(k) plan with match, performance and referral bonuses, telecommuting, and flextime.

Connections Education

Location: 1001 Fleet St., Flr. 5. Employees: 214 in Baltimore, 616 statewide, 2,500 nationally. What they do: They’re a provider of virtual-education solutions for students in grades K–12. Since 2001, the company’s Connections Academy division has delivered individualized learning to students through virtual public schools and a private online academy. As of the 2012–13 school year, 24 Connections Academy online public schools operate in 22 states and serve more than 45,000 students from across the U.S. Why we like them: Nationally, 40 percent of employees work from home. And, if you can believe this (it is from HR), 93 percent of employees rated their satisfaction with benefits as good, very good, or excellent, while 92.6 percent of employees said that the work environment is better or significantly better than at their previous job. Best benefits: Short-term disability 100-percent paid (usually for maternity), life insurance, employee-assistance program, 401(k) plan with employer match of 100 percent of first 3 percent of eligible earnings and 50 percent of next 3 percent of eligible earnings (with immediate vesting and early enrollment for new hires), health plan with no co-pays for preventative-care visits or drugs, tuition reimbursement, adoption assistance, and lots of professional-development programs.

Double Positive

Location: 1501 S. Clinton St., Ste. 1520, plus locations in Arizona and Georgia. Employees: 72. What they do: Online marketing company. Why we like them: This privately held company, which expects to increase its staff 10-20 percent in 2013, has a laid-back, youthful office culture and great views of the harbor from the 15th floor. And there’s a performance-review program that has employees rating their bosses, too. Best benefits: An annual merit-based bonus program, stock options, profit-sharing, six weeks’ paid maternity benefits, 100 percent of premium health, vision, and dental insurance covered (including domestic-partner coverage), hiring referral bonuses, a 401(k) plan that even new employees can participate in after only 90 days, tuition reimbursement, deep discounts on athletic-club memberships, and lots of free company lunches, picnics, parties, and sports events.

Exceptional Software Strategies

Location: 1304 Concourse Dr., Ste. 420, Linthicum. Employees: 100. What they do: Provide information technology solutions and services to U.S., state, and local governments, educational institutions, and private industry, specializing in advanced visualization, geographic information systems, cloud computing, and cyber security. Why we like them: Cutting-edge technology in a fast-growing field for clients that never seem to run out of money. (Think “the government.”) Best benefits: 100 percent of premiums paid for dental and vision insurance, 90 percent for health, health and fitness allowance, employee-assistance program, adoption program, fully vested 401(k) with exceptional match, tuition assistance, cash awards for performance, new-employee referral fee.

FX Studios

Location: 11270 Pepper Rd., Hunt Valley, as well as a fitness center at Under Armour HQ. Employees: 60. What they do: Salon, spa, and fitness studio. Why we like them: To quote an employee who participated in our survey: “FX offers constant education. . . . And with our gym facilities, including the new Performance Center for athletes, and the amazing personal trainers, I’m in the best shape of my life.” Best benefits: Health, dental, vision, and life insurance, a company financial adviser for employees at no cost, tuition reimbursement for annual certifications, year-round staff development and training, free access to fitness facilities including the new one at the Under Armour campus in Locust Point, discounts on personal trainers and products, as well as hair and spa services, a culture of year-round support of charitable causes by company and staff.

Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake

Location: 222 E. Redwood St. Employees: 580. What they do: A nonprofit providing job training and job-placement services. Why we like them: This fast-growing nonprofit combines a compassionate and critical mission with an appreciation of its employees not demonstrated by many for-profits. Best benefits: Paid leave for full- and part-time employees, health, dental, and vision insurance, paid long-term disability, life insurance, generous tuition reimbursement, financial counseling, wellness program, subsidized gym memberships, employee referral bonus, and store discounts.

Humanim

Location: 6355 Woodside Ct., Columbia, and other locations. Employees: 476. What they do: This nonprofit provides job training, placement services, and independent-living assistance for those with disabilities, mental-health issues, and criminal records. Why we like them: They’re addressing a pressing social issue few other organizations will deal with, and have a solid comp plan for staffers, as well. Best benefits: Health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, employee-assistance program, tuition reimbursement, profit-sharing, 403(b) retirement plan, hiring-referral bonuses, credit union and free checking, discounted home/auto insurance, discounts to Columbia Association sports and recreation facilities, wellness program.

Independent Security Evaluators (ISE)

Location: 4901 Springarden Dr., Ste. 200, and other locations nationally. Employees: 16. What they do: ISE protects companies from hackers and network attacks. Why we like them: How about the unlimited vacation? (Just get your work done, boys and girls.) Or that they expect to double staff in the coming year? The digs are nice, too: They’re in a historic mansion surrounded by the grounds of the Cylburn Arboretum. Best benefits: Fully paid health and dental benefits (nothing taken out of employee paycheck), annual bonus opportunities, safe harbor 401(k), health savings account with monthly funding match by company, flexible hours, telecommuting, discounted gym membership, weekly lunch provided by ISE, and company parties throughout the year, including their signature pool party: ISE Independence Day.

Irvine Nature Center

Location: 11201 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills. Employees: 13 full-time, 24 part-time. What they do: Environmental education for ages preschool to adult. Why we like them: Outdoorsy types get to enjoy nature, teach kids about it, and get money and benefits, too. Best benefits: Full-time employees have 100 percent of their health-insurance premiums paid and deductibles covered, flexible work schedules, plus 50 percent off preschool tuition, summer camps, and events at the center.

Kennedy Krieger Institute

Location: 707 N. Broadway, and many other locations. Employees: 2,400. What they do: This nonprofit is famous for caring for children from all over the nation with disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and musculoskeletal system, as well as providing the kids’ education and doing research. Why we like them: No one can argue with the cause and they’re no slackers on perks. Best benefits: A 401(k) with graduated match that allows new employees to participate, solid health insurance with same-sex spousal coverage, child-care assistance, subsidized health-club memberships, shuttles and mass-transit subsidies, home-buying incentives near work, auto- and home-insurance discounts, tuition-reimbursement program, professional development programs.

Key Tech

Location: 40 E. Cross St. Employees: 25. What they do: Developers of high-tech products with a focus on medical, industrial, and consumer devices. Why we like them: A creative, casual office environment that fosters innovative product development. Best benefits: Great office in former vaudeville theater; employee-partner track with equity opportunity; 100-percent paid health and dental insurance and monthly contributions to health savings account (and there’s no way you can lose it if you don’t use it, as in a flexible spending account); free parking in Federal Hill; cash bonuses for engineers annually up to 15 percent of salary based on company profits.

Liberty Mutual

Location: 6760 Alexander Bell Dr., Ste. 250, Columbia, and other locations. Employees: 426 in Maryland; 50,000 globally. What they do: You guessed it——insurance of all kinds. Why we like them: They’ve got staying power: The Boston-based firm ranks 84th on the Fortune 100 list and is the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. Best benefits: Multiple health plans, as you might expect from an insurer (plus eligibility for part-timers), cash awards for performance, life insurance, tuition reimbursement, adoption assistance, mass-transit discounts.

Mercy Ridge

Location: 2525 Pot Spring Rd., Timonium. Employees: 220. What they do: Continuing-care retirement community loosely affiliated with the Catholic archdiocese. Why we like them: Mercy Ridge offers good jobs for those who may lack degrees, and the mission is worthy, too——looking after granny. They have a reputation for internal training and promoting from within, as well as competitive salaries. Best benefits: Solid medical, vision, and dental coverage, and a 401(k) with a company match, free meals during an employee’s shift, campus health and fitness coaches offer free weekly classes for staffers, free access to the community’s fitness and aquatic center.

PHH Arval

Location: 940 Ridgebrook Rd., Sparks, plus numerous locations nationally and in Canada. Employees: 900 in Sparks. What they do: This subsidiary of PHH Corp. is a leading commercial fleet-management company in the U.S. and Canada, managing nearly 600,000 cars and trucks and has a client list that includes nearly one-third of Fortune 500 companies. Why we like them: Rock-solid financially, first-rate benefits, and more than 100 expected hires in 2013. Best benefits: PHH Arval provides a better-than-market-average company match (dollar for dollar, up to 4 percent) to employees’ 401(k) account after one year of employment, reserved parking for expectant mothers, and a 24/7 on-site fitness facility for employees, as well as health coaches, walking clubs, weight-management classes, on-site seated massage, and on-site amenities such as an ATM and professional dry-cleaning services.

National Conference Services (NCSI)

Location: 5565 Sterrett Pl., Ste. 200, Columbia. Employees: 45. What they do: NCSI is a marketing, event-planning, and production company serving the Department of Defense, intelligence community, and federal government. Why we like them: No shortage of customers (think financial stability), room to grow, and a great gig if you’d enjoy traveling to events nationwide and in Europe. Best benefits: Employer-paid health insurance, disability and life insurance, 401(k), fitness- membership discounts.

Phoenix Technology Solutions

Location: 10420 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Ste. 500, Columbia. Employees: 15. What they do: Provide computer training, IT certification, and management courses to government and commercial clients in the region. Why we like them: Employees and their families can take advantage of Phoenix’s wide range of computer-training courses at no charge. Best benefits: More than five weeks’ paid time off, multiple health and dental plans, 401(k) plan with match, tuition reimbursement for courses within its field, flextime, and work-at-home opportunities.

Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin, & White

Location: 201 N. Charles St., Ste. 2600. Employees: 50 (including 30 lawyers). What they do: A growing law firm that handles complex civil and criminal trial work and appellate work, including some unusual high-profile cases. Why we like them: We like their honor system for paid leave time and no limit to paid sick time. Not to mention the keg in the break room, too——it’s right above the TV there. And you get to sue people all day long. Best benefits: Many paid bonus holidays, profit-sharing along with firm contributions to 401(k) for all employees, paid parking, 100-percent paid health insurance for families, paid seminars around the country for lawyers and support staff, firm-sponsored weekly happy hours, flexible schedule for school and/or child-care, catered office lunches, in-house gym and locker room with shower, tickets to most sporting events and theaters in town.

Southern Management Corp.

Location: 1950 Old Gallows Rd., Ste. 600, Vienna, VA, plus dozens of locations in Maryland. Employees: 1,582 in the region. What they do: They’re one of the largest privately owned residential- property-management firms in the Mid-Atlantic, operating 74 communities, a ski resort, and a hotel, as well as commercial office space. Why we like them: They haven’t raised their employees’ share of health-insurance premiums in eight years, while absorbing the higher costs. (Where else does that happen?) And we like the employee discounts for apartment rentals managed by Southern, and the frequent promotions of women and minorities to leadership (61 percent of women in management, 47 percent are minorities). Best benefits: 401(k) plan, retirement pension (you thought that had gone the way of the hula-hoop, right?), profit-sharing, a range of health plans, paid life insurance, subsidized health/fitness programs, adoption assistance, tuition reimbursement and in-house “university,” flextime, free gyms at managed properties, numerous charity programs, discounts on company-managed apartment rentals, assorted phone, insurance, and retail discounts.

Stegman & Co.

Location: 405 E. Joppa Rd., Ste. 100. Employees: 45. What they do: Public accounting. Why we like them: If all you can do is count money and fill out tax forms, this is a pretty good gig. Best benefits: 80-percent-plus health plan with company-paid deductible, flextime for maternity and other cases, generous comp time for those crazy work weeks during the tax season, tuition reimbursement, bonus for CPA-degree completion, professional development, overtime for non-exempt employees.

WorkSpaces

Location: 509 S. Exeter St., Ste. 306, as well as offices in Washington and New York. Employees: 11 in Baltimore; 65 firm-wide. What they do: Commercial furniture dealer. Why we like them: Very generous insurance and 401(k) plan, and a nice accommodation for new moms. Best benefits: WorkSpaces pays 100 percent of health-care premiums, including dental and vision coverage, and zero deductible with the completion of a health assessment; 401(k) plan with a match of 50 percent of the employee contribution for the first 6 percent of their gross salary; paid maternity leave and telecommuting for new working mothers; flextime; leave-time honor system; tuition reimbursement; professional development plan; company-provided lunch on Fridays; and bring-your-dog-to-work day every week.

Y of Central Maryland

Location: 303 W. Chesapeake Ave., Towson (offices); wellness centers at many other locations. Employees: 2,143. What they do: They’re the largest provider of health and wellness services in the state, operating 11 family centers, as well as the state’s largest provider of education programs, including preschool and Head Start programs. The Y also operates 20 summer camps, over 50 before- and after-school programs, and offers mentoring and scholarship programs. Why we like them: Want to broaden your horizons and get paid, too? Employees can take a (free) course in virtually anything at the Y. Best benefits: Health insurance, 403(b) safe- harbor retirement savings plan with 8 percent Y contribution for all employees, free Y membership, dependent-care assistance, and professional-development programs.