Cindy Powell

Chief Communications Officer and Director of Community Relations

In addition to her work with EIS, Cindy currently serves as the Education Coordinator for the Housing Authority of the City of Frederick MD where she coordinates the educational enrichment and advocacy for youngsters residing in Housing Authority neighborhoods and scattered sites from birth through high school. Cindy is responsible for developing and implementing a new Early Learners program for our youngest residents and their parents

Cindy’s professional experiences of the last four decades have all begun in response to someone saying, “I want to do this _________,” or “We need this _________ and we’ve never done it before. Can you make it happen?”

Which is how she ended up talking to ER doctors across Pennsylvania about STDs, creating and/or reinventing PR and fund development programs for three institutions of higher education and a community foundation, helping to foil the nefarious aims of elected officials set to undermine care for low income and frail senior citizens, writing a history of Frederick County’s almshouses and senior care and two personal histories for local businessmen, creating and launching a new service coordination program for low-income seniors, and creating an early learning/parent engagement/after school services program for children residing in public housing. The last one involves changing diapers and singing, the latter of which is not one of her skills, but toddlers don’t care.

At one point, she was the one saying, “I want to open a business,” and once again ended up responding to customers who said, “I want to do this  _________. Can you help me?” At the end of the day, it’s all about having an idea of where you want to end up, and then forging a path to get there.

Cindy is available to talk grants, research, fundraising, community collaboration, and cradle-to-career education, write anything but fiction (yes to obits – she’s done quite a few), ask why and why not, and speak truth to power. Please don’t ask her to create a budget or a spreadsheet or sing. The results will not be pretty.