Ellen Gurzinsky, Presente!

Our table of ancestors added another chair last week, welcoming Ellen Gurzinsky. I can only imagine that the conversation immediately became livelier, the organizing more strategic, and the laughter two decibels louder. Here, we remember Ellen as powerhouse in progressive philanthropy, a fierce activist for social justice, and for me and many others, as a mentor and friend.

Ellen joined the Grassroots International Board of Directors in 2010, not long after I started as a staff member, drawn especially by our Palestine solidarity work. When we first met about 15 years before that, Ellen was the equivalent of a rock star in progressive philanthropy – the ED of the Funding Exchange, and on the board or advising numerous other funders and coalitions. A quintessential New Yorker, Ellen talked fast, laughed without hesitation, and didn’t abide lazy thinking. And she loved as generously as she laughed, taking in friends and chosen family, and dogs, too.

Ellen’s impact at Grassroots International continued even after she left the Board. Most notably, Ellen was the consultant for the Executive Director Search Committee that hired Chung-Wha Hong, and provided supportive coaching throughout the leadership transition. 

It is impossible to name a single trait among the myriad that I most admired about Ellen. She was fierce, and fiercely funny. An ‘elder’ in both the queer and funding world, Ellen cultivated relationships and connections wherever she went.

Ellen was diagnosed with PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) just about a year ago, and her decline was rapid and profound. On Friday, with her partner Linda and her brother Joel by her side, Ellen died. Linda said Ellen’s passing was peaceful and full of ease.

In Linda’s message to friends, she said this:

Please join us in spending some time today and over the next couple of days in meditation, prayer, thought, listening to great music, resisting the oligarchs or whatever suits you to send Ellen’s spirit on. She loved you so deeply and could use your help again now to let her go well. 

Ellen would, of course, call on all of us to do all we can to help resist what is going on in this country. As you know, one of the great frustrations she’s had as her disease progressed was not being able to be on the streets or be active in whatever way was most strategic at the moment. In her honor, please put her wishes forward and resist.

Ellen Gurzinsky, presente, ahora y siempre!