Margery Tabankin

Margery Tabankin (born 1948) is an American progressive political activist.^[1][2] She is known for serving as a conduit between Hollywood donors and liberal political causes in Washington D.C.^[2][3]

Margery Tabankin
Born	1948^[1] Newark, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Occupation	Political activist

Biography

Tabankin became a nationally known campus radical during the 1960s.^[1] She was inspired to become a part of the New Left political movement after hearing activist Tom Hayden give a speech in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey. She graduated from Weequahic High School in 1965.^[4] Tabankin became an anti-war activist while attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison.^[1][2]

At age 23, Tabankin was elected the first woman president of the National Student Association. In late 1969, she was picked to become one of the first women student trainees at leftist activist Saul Alinsky's School of Community Organizing in Chicago.^[1]

She later worked for President Jimmy Carter's administration, heading up the VISTA program.^[2] After her time working at the White House, Tabankin moved to Los Angeles, where she became executive director of the Hollywood Women's Political Committee.^[5]

She has a consulting firm, Margery Tabankin and Associates. Tabankin works with Hollywood celebrities like Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg and Donna Karan to allocate funds to liberal political causes.^[2][6] She has led the Arca Foundation, which is funded with the R. J. Reynolds family fortune, and the Barbra Streisand Foundation.^[1]

Tabankin has met with Fidel Castro and Yasser Arafat.^[5]

References

1. Finke, Nikki (August 13, 1989). "A Radical Move: Margery Tabankin Has Fled the Center of Power for the Center of Status, but Without Missing an Activist Beat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
2. Edwards, Julia (July 18, 2012). "The Hollywood Connection". National Journal. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
3. Scheiber, Noam (April 23, 2015). "Kevin Spacey's Brilliant and Weirdly Effective Campaign to Win Over DC". Washingtonian. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
4. Distinguished Weequahic Alumni, Weequahic High School Alumni Association. Accessed December 19, 2019. "Margery Tabankin (1965) a director of VISTA and the Spielberg and Streisand foundations."
5. Stein, Jeanne (July 31, 1994). "Woman Warrior: She's known as a relentless and uncompromising activist for liberal causes--and as a workaholic. But Margery Tabankin is about to change jobs and take a vacation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
6. Rampell, Ed (2005). Progressive Hollywood: A People's Film History of the United States. Red Wheel Weise. p. 169. ISBN 9781932857108.