Good day, CharterFolk.
Today I’m delighted to share a CharterFolk Chat with Marlon Marshall, the CEO of City Fund.
You can access the discussion in video format on YouTube.
An audio version is also available on our website.
And you can find all past CharterFolk chats here.
Marlon has long been a well-known and respected leader in the charter school movement, even before being named City Fund’s second CEO.
But having had the chance to work with Marlon on several projects, I’ve come to realize that our world hasn’t yet fully grasped the breadth of unique gifts he brings to this work. That’s why I was thrilled when he agreed to this conversation — it gave me the chance to learn even more about his remarkable life and career.
Hanging with the President in the Oval Office …
Driving one of the White House’s most important initiatives …
Representing the President at a moment of heartbreak in his own hometown …
All while becoming the talk of the town in more ways than one.
Soon he became one of the highest-ranking members of Hillary Clinton’s team …
… headlining at the Democratic National Convention.
Then he co-founded 270 Strategies …
… one of the most respected political consulting firms in the country, before finding his way to City Fund …
… where he now leads a 30+ person team working in 18 cities across the United States.
From St. Louis to National Impact
As it happens, Marlon’s personal background and his leadership at City Fund allowed us to explore some of the topics I’m most passionate about.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s gave Marlon a unique vantage point on the “Delmar Divide,” a racial boundary in St. Louis so stark that the BBC …
… made a whole documentary about it.
It’s a history that is directly tied to the systemic brokenness we still find in St. Louis schools to this very day.
Here’s a link to the ProPublica study about Ferguson that we referenced …
… as well as a typical anti-charter hit piece from ProPublica — the kind we’ve seen time and time again.
Here’s the article I wrote at conference about Boston, busing, and the case that essentially dismantled Brown v. Board of Education.
Amazingly, Marlon was in high school during the period when St. Louis first opened up, allowing families from central St. Louis to access better schools outside the city.
This history provided the perfect jumping-off point for Marlon to discuss the progress City Fund is making — closing gaps, expanding opportunity, and lifting all boats in cities across the country.
And he made encouraging reference to the fact that City Fund is likely to be involved in even more cities in the future.
A Moment of Great Disruption — and Great Opportunity
Through our conversation, Marlon returned to a key theme:
The opportunity to make huge change during a period of great disruption.
Yes, things are tough right now.
We are experiencing disruption on a scale we’ve never seen before.
Yet, through it all, Folk are navigating it.
Like Marlon, they recognize the tremendous opportunity for bold change amid the uncertainty.
I leave this conversation even more convinced that we have an extraordinary leader, guiding an extraordinary organization, at an extraordinary moment in time.
And I trust you will, too.