Johns Hopkins University Athletics

Jennifer S. Baker was appointed the Director of Athletics and Recreation at Johns Hopkins on August 6, 2019.  In just over five years at the helm, she has guided one of the nation’s historically great athletic programs to even greater heights.

Johns Hopkins’ run of success under Baker’s guidance has been nothing short of remarkable.  In five full years - two of which were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic - Johns Hopkins teams have won five national championships and 53 conference titles, including a school-record 15 in 2023-24, and claimed the program’s first Learfield Directors’ Cup title in 2022-23.  Johns Hopkins followed its initial Directors’ Cup crown with a repeat in 2023-24.

Individually, Blue Jay athletes have earned 16 national championships, 16 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, 102 CSC/CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and 292 individuals have earned All-America status.

In addition to the overall success enjoyed by Blue Jay teams under her guidance, Baker also spearheaded the development of a new strategic plan that will guide the department through 2025.  Baker’s plan is highlighted by three distinct areas of focus:  Competitive Excellence, Student-Athlete Experience and Community Building.  Each area closely supports the department’s stated mission to “Be More”. 

Baker has been an integral member of the department’s senior-leadership team since her arrival at Homewood.  As the Senior Associate Director of Athletics from 2017-19, she oversaw the day-to-day operation of the Department of Athletics with oversight in the planning, development and management of all fiscal and administrative operations.  As such, she directed all revenue-generating initiatives and short and long-term budget planning for Johns Hopkins’ 24-sport varsity athletic program.

Among her many key initiatives at Johns Hopkins has been the launching of a unique leadership development program for Johns Hopkins student athletes (Blue Jays LEAD).  The Blue Jays LEAD program made its debut in 2017-18 with a mission of empowering student-athletes to actualize the leader within and inspire action in their communities at Johns Hopkins and beyond.  

Baker came to Johns Hopkins from Under Armour, where she served as a Senior Manager of Corporate Real Estate, Facilities and Operations.  She was responsible for the daily operation of all UA facilities at its nearby Port Covington headquarters and provided support to all UA offices outside of Baltimore.  That support included new facility activation, vendor relationships and energy management.  

Prior to her time at Under Armour, Baker spent three years at Cornell University, where she ascended to the position of Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities and played an integral role in the oversight of all internal department operations as a member of the senior leadership team.  She was responsible for all athletic facilities and was integral in the budgeting, planning and programming of all related projects.

During her time at Cornell, Baker also designed and developed the Big Red Leadership Institute (BRLI), a program for more than 500 student-athletes across 37 athletic teams at the school.  The BRLI delivered key leadership concepts set in the athletics context with a mission of building confident leaders and followers who provided immediate impact to their teams and communities

She additionally is a co-founder of Athletics Leadership Consulting (ALC), whose mission is to make leadership development accessible to all athletes, coaches and organizational support staff.  ALC leverages athletics as a tool for leadership education as it designs and delivers original content that allows athletes to develop leadership and teamwork skills as an integrated component of their competitive experience.

Baker graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in aerospace engineering and was a member of the Academy’s women’s lacrosse club team.  After the Naval Academy, Baker spent seven years in the Navy, including three years as a pilot and four as a construction manager and facilities engineer.  She later earned an MBA and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Cornell.

A Baltimore area native, Baker attended nearby Hereford High School, where she was a member of the girl’s lacrosse program.  She later helped lead the club lacrosse team to a national championship at the Naval Academy.  Baker’s father (David Dowell ’66), uncle (Brice Dowell ’70) and grandfather (Robert Dowell ’38) are all Johns Hopkins graduates.