Martha McCoy

Over three decades Martha McCoy has been a leader at the intersection of participatory democracy, racial justice, and grass-roots social change. As executive director of Everyday Democracy for over 25 years, she built a multi-racial, multi-ethnic organization that is committed to applying racial justice practices internally and in its collaboration with local, regional, and national partners. The organization and its network are recognized for building the capacity of local, cross-sector, multi-racial coalitions to organize democratic dialogue and collective action. Through these efforts, a growing number of communities are advancing racially equitable changes on the issues that affect people’s lives every day – including education, early childhood development, public safety, and the criminal legal system.       

Martha writes and speaks on grass-roots civic engagement, participatory governance, and racial justice. Her service on numerous boards has focused on strengthening the emerging U.S. and global movements for participatory, equitable democracy. She currently serves on the advisory board of the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.