Marshall Ganz

Senior Lecturer in Public Policy
Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
Office Address
Belfer-125
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 143
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-3937
Fax: 617-495-0996
Email: Marshall_Ganz@harvard.edu
Assistant
Gerta Dhamo (617-384-9637)
Marshall Ganz

Profile

Marshall Ganz, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, entered Harvard College in the fall of 1960. In 1964, a year before graduating, he left to volunteer as a civil rights organizer in Mississippi. In 1965, he joined Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers; over the next 16 years he gained experience in union and community issues, and political organizing, and became Director of Organizing. During the 1980s, he worked with grassroots groups to develop effective organizing programs, designing innovative voter mobilization strategies for local, state, and national electoral campaigns. In 1991, in order to deepen his intellectual understanding of his work, he returned to Harvard College and, after a 28-year "leave of absence," completed his undergraduate degree in history and government. He was awarded an MPA by the Kennedy School in 1993 and completed his PhD in sociology in 2000. He teaches, researches, and writes on leadership, organization, and strategy in social movements, civic associations, and politics.

Marshall Ganz also teaches "Leadership, Organizing and Action: Leading Change" an online program designed to help leaders of civic associations, advocacy groups and social movements learn how to organize communities that can mobilize power to make change.

Link to the course

Courses

Fall Mod1

  • MLD-355M Public Narrative: Self, Us, Now

Fall Mod2

  • MLD-356M Public Narrative: Conflict, Continuity, Change

Spring

  • MLD-377 Organizing: People, Power, Change

Media Expertise

Marshall Ganz welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

For a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Commentary
    • Ganz, Marshall. "Organizing as a Campaign Strategy." Mobilizing Ideas, September 3, 2012.
    • Ganz, Marshall. "We Can Be Actors, Not Just Spectators." New Statesman, 141.5114, July 11, 2012, 52-54.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Ganz, Marshall and Ruth Wageman. "Leadership Development Project: Pilot Project Report and Recommendations." Sierra Club Leadership Development Project, May 2008.
    • Ganz, Marshall, Kenneth Andrews, Hahrie Han, Chaeyoon Lim, and Matthew Baggetta. "National Purpose, Local Action: Sources of Chapter and Group Effectiveness." September 2005.