Lindsey Baker, 35, took the helm of Patapsco Heritage Greenway, a preservation-based nonprofit, in January 2018 after serving for nearly 10 years as executive director of the Laurel Historical Society. Baker and her husband, Danny Cruz, live in Laurel with their daughter, Adriana, 2. Here she shares three interesting facts with us.
Soccer is a huge force in her life. Before her daughter was born, Baker played on adult indoor soccer leagues six days a week in Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties; now she’s “down to two.” She’s filled the gap by taking spin, yoga and weight training classes. She met her husband in a soccer league, and they play together on Friday nights. Her twin sister, Brooke, was her teammate growing up and Baker played defense for the Goucher Gophers from 2002 to 2006.
She’s a museum junkie. During her undergraduate years at Goucher and two years in graduate school at the University of Delaware – where she earned history degrees – Baker worked at 20 museums, often juggling more than one internship at a time. “It’s cool to handle old things and think of the stories behind them,” she says. She also logged countless hours managing volunteers, a skill she says was critical to shaping her career path.
International travel is a priority. Baker likes traveling to foreign countries with a friend or relative who’s a native. Since 2010, she’s vacationed in Sri Lanka, South Africa, Trinidad and El Salvador with insider guides, often playing in pickup soccer games while visiting. Experiencing a country’s culture always includes a focus on “food, food, food,” she says. Baker hopes to take her daughter along on future trips to expand her world view and develop her language skills.