This Shabbat we are excited to host Cynthia Marshall, a community organizer for the IAF (Industrial Areas Foundation) in Montgomery, Anne Arundel, and now Prince George’s Counties. Founded in Chicago in 1940 by legendary organizer Saul Alinsky, the IAF is the nation’s largest network of local faith and community-based organizations. Over time, the congregation-based community organizing model of the IAF (and other similar organizations) has proven one of the most (maybe the most?) potent ways for communities of faith to effect social change. Cynthia will speak about her work with IAF, their powerful methods for deepening human relationships, and give us an update of what is happening as the new IAF in PG County is establishing itself.
Cynthia Marshall has been an organizer with Industrial Areas Foundation since 2005. She cut her teeth on organizing in Montgomery County, MD, leading a campaign that won $30 million to build recreation centers in historic African American communities. Since then she has organized throughout Maryland leading campaigns to create a youth conservation corps, winning $17 Million for low-income seniors to receive care at home, and over $200 Million for affordable housing. Before she started organizing, Cynthia was a Wilderness Instructor at Outward Bound. She earned a Master’s degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and her B.A. at Carleton College. She lives in Columbia with her husband and two children.
