Dana Marlowe

Dana Marlowe is an American social entrepreneur, philanthropist, women rights activist and disability advocate.[2][3][4][5] She is best known for founding I Support the Girls, an American nonprofit organization with the main focus on providing homeless and vulnerable women with hygiene products.[6][7][8] Marlowe is founder of Accessibility Partners, a private IT consultancy in the area of technological accessibility for people with disabilities. She is also a frequent commentator on social issues and feminism in media outlets.[9][10][11][12][13]

Dana Marlowe
Born
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationRochester Institute of Technology (A.A.S.)
Rochester Institute of Technology (B.S.)
The University of Texas at Austin (M.A.)[1]
Occupation(s)social entrepreneurship (CEO), philanthropy
Years active2015–present
Known forI Support the Girls, women rights activism, Accessibility Partners
SpousePreston Blay
Websiteisupportthegirls.org

Early biography

Dana Marlowe was born to a middle-class Jewish family in Manhattan and brought up in Rockland County, New York. At the age of 12, Marlowe lost her father who suffered from brain cancer. She graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology where she received a B.S. degree in Professional & Technical Communication and an A.A.S. in Sign Language Interpreting. Continuing her studies at The University of Texas at Austin, she graduated with master's degree in Interpersonal & Organizational Communication.[1][14] While still at Rochester Institute of Technology, Marlowe worked as a sign-language interpreter.[1]

Career

While still on maternity leave in 2009, Marlowe launched Accessibility Partners, a private IT firm specializing in counsel training, and other services to organizations and businesses to accommodate people with disabilities, placing particular emphasis on equal access to technology usage.[15] The company's clients include the Library of Congress, Amazon and the Kennedy Center.[1][16]

I Support The Girls

The charity started accidentally: Marlowe didn't know what to do with her supply of bras and decided to donate them. Once she realized there was no specific charity dedicated to female undergarments, she founded I Support The Girls in July 2015.[17] The nonprofit's initial focus was on donating bras to homeless and economically disadvantaged women and girls as well as of hygiene products intended for women and people who are experiencing homelessness, poverty, are refugees and evacuees of natural disasters.[18][19][20] In her tenure as the Executive Director and Founder at I Support the Girls, Dana Marlowe visited many shelters and facilitated creation of new affiliations in the US and abroad involving more women to philanthropic activity.[8][21][22][3][23] As of October 2019, the organization had 58 affiliates in the US, Australia, Canada, Philippines, Pakistan, Thailand and more.[2][24] According to a number of sources including The Washington Post and The New York Times, the organization supported female federal employees during 2018–19 United States federal government shutdown and is still active during COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7][25]

Personal life

Marlowe and her husband Preston Blay live in Silver Spring, Maryland. They have two sons, Micah and Riley,[1][14]

References
  1. JWI: Dana Marlowe
  2. USA Today: Homeless women need bras. This group is helping
  3. Maple Grove Magazine: I Support the Girls Donates Personal Items to Women in Need
  4. AP: Mujer dirige campaña para donar sostenes a desamparadas
  5. Today.com: Maryland woman spearheads push to get bras and feminine products to the homeless
  6. The New York Times: Periods Don’t Stop for Pandemics, So She Brings Pads to Women in Need
  7. The Washington Post: The ‘accidental bra fairy’ has helped homeless women for years. Now, she’s helping women affected by the shutdown
  8. The Jewish News: Sisters-in-Law Collect Over 11,000 Items for ‘I Support the Girls’
  9. Health: How This Woman Is Using Old Bras to Support Homeless Women
  10. Idealist: Interview with Dana Marlowe | How One Social Media Post Sparked a Movement
  11. Authority Magazine: Social Impact Heroes: Dana Marlowe is helping to restore the dignity of homeless women and girls
  12. American Snippets: Dana Marlowe's I Support The Girls
  13. Cosmopolitan: How I Donated 20,000 Bras (and Counting) to Homeless Women
  14. WJW: You Should Know… Dana Marlowe (April 7, 2016)
  15. Accessibility Partners: About the company
  16. RespectAbility: Dana Marlowe: Ensuring Online Accessibility For All
  17. The Lily: This ‘accidental bra fairy’ is helping women affected by the shutdown
  18. WJLA: Support the Girls: Silver Spring woman collects, donates 20,000 bras to homeless women
  19. The Saturday Evening Post: Creating a “Support System” for Homeless Women
  20. The Washington Post: An uplifting donation: Bras for homeless women
  21. The Daily Orange: Syracuse’s ‘I Support the Girls’ chapter donated feminine products to City Hall
  22. Syracuse Woman Magazine: For A Good Cause: Teri Tullar Lawless, I Support the Girls
  23. TheCityMoms: I Support The Girls {and so should you}
  24. The Fem World: Dana Marlowe, CEO of 'I Support The Girls' | Washington, D.C.
  25. GlobalCitizen: Periods Don't Stop for Pandemics,' Says Menstrual Equity Activist Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
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