Want to solve Baltimore’s problems? Include residents in decision-making. They’re savvy negotiators.

When hired to teach negotiation at the University of Baltimore, I felt prepared. I had spent a decade negotiating in 12 countries and with big companies like the NFL, Bloomberg and Google. I’d studied negotiation at Harvard and had a Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution. Turns out, I was far from ready. The first year: One student asked how, as a 6-foot, 4-inch tall, 220-pound Black man, not to intimidate white people during a negotiation; A second wanted to get her kids back from the court; and A third wanted to know how to divorce her husband without losing the financial support from her parents.