David J. Maurrasse

David Maurrasse "is the President, CEO, and Founder of Marga Incorporated, a global consulting firm dedicated to forging and strengthening pathways to take on the great issues of the twenty-first century through cross-sector partnerships, philanthropy, strategy, and management. Marga serves as a partnership catalyst bringing together stakeholders across sectors and across national boundaries to address shared concerns. Opportunities have also emerged for Marga to share its expertise and knowledge beyond the U.S., in countries such as Canada, Mexico, the U.K., and China. In forging pathways toward a better future, Marga has worked with a number of foundations, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the Kellogg Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the California Endowment, and the San Francisco Foundation.

"Since 2000, Dr. Maurrasse has been on the faculty at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He is currently Associate Research Scholar in the School and a Strategic Advisor to the University's Earth Institute. At Columbia, he founded the Center for Innovation in Social Responsibility (CISR) which researched and promoted dialogue on the formation of partnerships involving corporations, higher education, philanthropy, and various other industries. Before moving to Columbia University, Dr. Maurrasse was a professor at Yale University from 1995-2000. From 1998-2000, he was a Senior Program Advisor at the Rockefeller Foundation, where he worked on community building and an initiative to further higher education/community partnerships.

"A leading author, speaker, and researcher on the relationship between major institutions and their surrounding communities, Dr. Maurrasse has published important books in his fields of research all directed toward advancing new thinking about partnerships. In Listening to Harlem: Gentrification, Community and Business (2006), his latest, Dr. Maurrasse explores the opportunities and challenges of urban development as played out in Harlem between longtime community residents and newly established businesses. Growing out of Dr. Maurrasse's earlier work, A Future for Everyone: Innovative Social Responsibility and Community Partnerships (2004) which examines corporate and institutional pathways for contributing to society, Listening to Harlem delves deeper and presents ideas and recommendations for unleashing untapped resources in communities such as Harlem. In 2001, Dr. Maurrasse laid the groundwork for his ideas about the role of partnerships in changing society with Beyond the Campus: How Colleges and Universities form Partnerships with Their Communities.

"Dr. Maurrasse has been a member of the board of several organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Bucknell University, Public Health Foundation Enterprises, and World Savvy, an organization started by two of his students focused on promoting global education in schools. He is also the current Chair of the Alliance for Community Enhancement (ACE) at Columbia University, a student-run nonprofit organization that partners with community based organizations in Harlem, funded by the Ford Foundation. Additionally, Dr. Maurrasse is a founding board member of the Association for Community and Higher Education Partnerships (ACHEP) and has served as Chair of the Board of Alliance for Nonprofit Management."