Geeta Pradhan: Inspired by Everyday Struggling People, She Leads $60 Million Endowment ...

credit: Photo by Jim McCormac

Geeta Pradhan is the president of the Cambridge Community Foundation in Massachusetts, and in 2024 she'll become the state's outstanding woman of the year.

That's thanks to her work to fight poverty in her city, which she calls "a city defined by four core values"dignity, equity, creativity, and imaginationin a Q&A with Indiana New England News.

"We aspire to make our vibrant city the right to dignity, just, and values," she says.

"Not everyone benefits from the city's success, widening disparities and the gaps are."

Among her efforts: helping to structure Cambridge's $22 million Rise Up Cambridge program, which provides non-lottery cash assistance to families at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty line.

She's also served on public sector task forces and committees, including the City of Cambridge's Youth & Family Policy Council.

"Geeta Pradhan draws on her deep experience in philanthropy, urban planning, and community development to address the needs of Cambridge," the foundation states.

"She has led Cambridge's transformation from a local Grantmaker to a data-informed, strategic civic leader tackles the city's most intractable problems in deep partnership with nonprofits, local changemakers, and donors."

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