Susan Chinn began working as a community organizer with Massachusetts Fair Share in 1979. She was assigned to the Liberty Heights neighborhood of Springfield, MA. She worked with Massachusetts Fair Share until at least 1981. She then founded Parents United for Child Care in Boston, MA, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding the supply of quality, affordable child care and out-of-school care. She served as the program officer for the Proteus Fund and the Fund 2000, where her grantmaking focused on promoting civic participation. She was then the Executive Director of the Discount Foundation, a small private foundation that focuses on alleviating poverty by supporting exemplary programs to improve job opportunities for low-income people. Her next role was as the Director of Leadership Development at the Center for Community Change, where she helped to develop the Center’s electoral and youth leadership programs. Her most recent position is as the Program Director at the New Organizing Institute. She has a Masters Degree in History from the University of Illinois.
Bibliography: http://archive.neworganizing.com/profile/Sue-Chinn
Documents collected and used by Susan Chinn during her time as an employee of Massachusetts Fair Share whose function is grass-roots community organizing for low and moderate income people for the state of Massachusetts. The collection includes training manuals, Fair Share publications, an essay on the history of the organization, and documentation about the internal workings of the organization. Of particular note is a letter written by Susan Chinn in 1979 describing her experience being hired for Fair Share and her first weeks of work in the community of Springfield, MA.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Susan Chinn papers, Ms.2015.017, Brown University Library.
The folders are arranged alphabetically.
Gift of Susan Chinn.