Cindy Marano

Cindy Marano (1947 – April 28, 2005) was an economic justice activist from the United States. Marano worked for economic equity for women and low-income workers. She is a designated Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project, which described her as a "brilliant strategic thinker".

Personal life and education

Cindy (Carty) Marano was born in Philadelphia in 1947 to Edgar and Grayce (Peggy) Carty. Her family moved frequently due to her father's work, and she attended nine different schools before she graduated high school. Cindy graduated from Downers Grove High School in 1965 where she won many honors. She was inspired by her 8th grade teacher and joined the Peace Corps in the 1960s, serving for two years in Ecuador. The work she did in Ecuador with poor women and children affected her deeply, and she would go on to establish a distribution network for the hand-woven goods the women made.

Marano founded the Washington-based Women Work! The National Network for Displaced Homemakers and the Older Women's League, the National Coalition on Women, Work and Welfare Reform, and the National Women's Vote Project. She served as vice chairwoman of Equal Rights Advocates and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. Marano also served on advisory commissions for three U.s. secretaries of labor and the Private Industry Council. She was awarded the Ms. Foundation for Women's Gloria Award for Women of Vision and the National Award for Women's Economic Justice. The Cindy Marano Memorial Fund was founded to support strategic and immediate actions and policies that can impact the lives of low-income people, specifically women. In 2005 the Sector Skills Academy, a program of the Aspen Institute, named their inaugural Academy class "Marano Fellows" as a tribute to Marano.