Champions Profile: Deena Margolis

When Deena Margolis was in high school, she learned about an organization that provides loans, mostly to women in developing countries, to help start their own business and get out of poverty. Margolis eventually began advocating for Grameen Bank, which was founded by Bangladeshi economist and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.

It’s a philanthropic model she still believes in, and sees many similarities to First 5 LA’s Best Start place-based approach, where the strengths of a community are identified and built upon. “Sometimes, I think communities don’t even realize that they have those assets,” said Margolis, a consultant who provided policy and programmatic support to the countywide aspect of First 5 LA’s FY 2009-2015 Strategic Plan. “If everybody contributes a little of what their skills are, it can really transform their community.”

Margolis also played a key role in assisting First 5 LA in identifying, securing and planning use of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Acts funds (ARRA) and authored a policy brief analyzing key ARRA investments and their impact on Los Angeles County children.

Margolis, who earned her masters in public administration at Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, has worked for the National Council of Jewish Women, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and the Los Angeles County’s Chief Administrative Office.

Margolis, a married mother of two boys, age 7 and 4, decided to try independent consulting because it gave her flexibility to work on different projects with different people. “I was looking for balance, looking for interesting work – and I really got both. It’s been incredibly fulfilling,” Margolis said.

Margolis and her twin sister, who works for a nonprofit that champions women’s issues, were raised by a lawyer father and an interior designer mother who discussed social issues, philosophy and politics with their daughters. As part of their Jewish heritage, Margolis was taught about tikkun olam – a Hebrew saying that means “to heal the world.”

“It’s something I really want to pass on to my kids. I’m trying to instill in them kind of what it means to be a citizen of the world,” said Margolis, who serves on the board of The Echo Center, a First 5 LA grantee that works for children being raised free from physical and emotional harm.

 “My goal is to connect my clients and join different organizations and people together so they can do more,” Margolis said. “I just don’t think that we can do it all alone.”

‹‹ Back to this week's Monday Morning Report