Alison Asti does quite the balancing act.
The executive director of the Maryland Stadium Authority also serves as the president of the Bar Association of Baltimore City and president-elect of the Maryland State Bar Association and is the mother of two college-age children.
Overseeing the MSA, Asti strives to attract new events to the Baltimore region. With her background as a practicing lawyer, Asti is equipped to deal with extensive negotiations for events at the state?s facilities.
And even some interaction with the state Legislature.
“Getting the [Baltimore] Convention Center deal and the Hippodrome deal passed … both were big projects and important issues,” the 52-year-old said.
Appointed executive director in 2004, Asti has played a role in the negotiations to keep the Orioles in Maryland and the subsequent construction of Camden Yards. Asti also was a head negotiator with the then-Cleveland Browns, getting the organization to come to Baltimore and become the Ravens, leading to the construction of M&T Bank Stadium.
Aside from the Camden Yards Sports Complex, Asti also oversees the construction, operation and financing of the Ocean City Convention Center expansion, the Hippodrome and Camden Station. The national popularity of Camden Yards has taken Asti all over the country as a sought-after speaker.
“I do [conferences] because it?s good for Baltimore,” Asti said. “It?s an opportunity to be an ambassador for the state.”
Asti originally began her work with the MSA when she was a partner with the Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Holland law firm, where she did the initial lease work with the Orioles. Despite her eventual move to the MSA, Asti has never lost her love of working directly with the Bar Association, and at the state association?s annual meeting, she will be installed as the group?s fourth female president in 114 years.
“She?s a very unique and extraordinary kind of person; she brings a multiple of talents along,” former MSA Chairman Herb Belgrad said. “She has brought up two children who have now gone on to college, but she has been an absolutely hands-on committed mother despite all of her professional [responsibilities] and work-related activities.”
ALISON ASTI
» First job: Waitress in Ocean City
» Education/credentials: Double major in economics and political science from Duke University, Masters of Arts in economics from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Maryland law school.
» Best job perk: Seeing projects come to fruition.
» Daily e-mails received: Several hundred.
» Daily voice mails received: 10
» Career objective: Continue to make a difference in Maryland.
» Favorite gadget: BlackBerry.
» Hometown: Pasadena
» Birth date: July 25, 1954
» Original aspiration: First woman astronaut.
» Sports/hobbies: Being involved with my children and staying active in the community.
