Bridget Marquis

As project manager for Reimagining the Civic Commons, a national initiative supported by The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and William Penn Foundation, she provides strategic advice, coordinated learning, impact assessment and storytelling support to a network of communities seeking to transform shared civic assets to foster engagement, equity, environmental sustainability and economic development.

Under Bridget’s leadership, the Civic Commons Learning Network developed a universal metrics framework to capture the multi-faceted impacts of strategic investments in parks, libraries, trails and community centers, a set of principles defining a new approach to managing public assets, and case studies offering examples of these practices at work. The Learning Network regularly releases new tools, resources and articles to support this emerging field.

The civic commons work is advanced by Bridget’s experience as a strategic grant maker and network manager. Prior to joining U3, Bridget served as program director during the start-up phase of ArtPlace America, where she developed and executed grantmaking strategies to inform and accelerate the field of creative placemaking. In addition, she developed and directed the expansion of the Talent Dividend research into a full portfolio of work including a 31-city tour, 60-city learning network and $1 million prize for CEOs for Cities.

Bridget has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration with a minor in Art from The College of William & Mary, and a Master of Business Administration in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a frequent speaker and author on reimagining public space as critical civic infrastructure for resilient cities.