Communities Parisa Norouzi ’00
Building community power through grassroots organizing
"I firmly believe that there is no social progress in our society without people coming together around common concerns to build their political power," says Parisa. She has worked in Washington D.C. since she graduated from Marlboro, as cofounder and executive director of Empower DC since 2003. "I enjoy community organizing because it is a constant challenge. I work with people from diverse backgrounds and it makes me more connected to my community."
At Marlboro Parisa focused on public lands policy, with internships at Green Mountain Forest Watch and the office of Rep. Bernie Sanders. After graduating, she worked for the Alaska Wilderness League in Washington D.C. "If we own public land, why don't we know anything about it, or how to protect it? These questions followed me to D.C., where I translated the issue into an urban context and found that privatization of public land is also an issue here."
After working with local grassroots groups, Parisa cofounded Empower DC and then completed a master's degree in community economic development in 2006. Among other things, Empower DC has organized families to advocate for affordable childcare, leading to over $20 million in increased local funding for child care vouchers, and mobilized low-income tenants to fight for tenants' rights. "Our People's Property Campaign has significantly changed the discussion about public property in D.C.," says Parisa. "It won introduction of legislation that would significantly change the way D.C. does business—upholding public input and public benefit with regard to public property."