UDC’s Board of Trustees

Ken Grossinger, MSW

Ken Grossinger is a principal in Democracy Partners (DP), a strategic consulting firm in which he serves as Director of the Impact Philanthropy division.

In addition to serving as a principal in DP, Grossinger is co-founder and Chair of the CrossCurrents Foundation whose funding portfolios focus on the intersection of art and social justice and supports work on civil and human rights.

Prior to entering the world of philanthropy, for two decades Grossinger was one of the labor movement’s leading strategists. He represented public and private sector workers in the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for ten years, and in the following decade he directed legislative field operations for the AFL-CIO.

Formerly a community organizer, Grossinger co-launched the Human SERVE Fund, a national advocate organization that initiated and led the successful decade-long fight for passage of the National Voter Registration Act, commonly known as Motor Voter.

Grossinger holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Social Work and writes periodically about strategies for social change. In July 2023 The New Press is publishing his forthcoming book entitled Art Works: How Organizers and Artists are Creating a Better World Together.

Grossinger is active on several governing boards including the CrossCurrents Foundation (Chair) University of the District of Columbia (Treasurer), the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum (Trustee), Skylight Pictures (Director), and The People’s Action Institute (Director).

Among other cultural projects, Grossinger and his wife, DC artist Micheline Klagsbrun served as Co-Executive Producers of the award-winning Netflix documentaries “Bleeding Edge” (2018) and “The Social Dilemma” (2020), “Boycott” (2023) and the forthcoming film “Borderland” (2024).