Barbara Gross

Title:

Principal Associate

Email Address:

Barbara provides overall support to this parent-led citywide coalition of eight parent/community groups organizing for greater equity and excellence in schools throughout the five boroughs. Barbara is responsible for overseeing training, technical assistance, strategic campaign direction, leadership development, media presence, and more. She has worked as a community organizer, trainer, and educator for the last thirty years. She began as an organizer for ACORN in 1980 and moved to Bronx Educational Services (BES) in 1987, where she taught adult literacy and trained literacy providers around the country in learner-centered approaches to adult education. In 1992, in response to concerns of BES learners, and together with them, she conceived of The Parent Organizing and Education Project, the predecessor for Mothers on the Move, which Barbara co-founded and where she worked as co-director until 1998. Barbara worked as a consultant and, later, as a senior project director at New York University’s Institute for Education and Social Policy, where she provided training and technical assistance to community groups organizing for better schools, participated in research studies of the impact of community organizing on school change, and facilitated the New York City Organizers Network. She holds a B.S. in political science and education from Cornell University.