Dr. Marla M. Dean

Dr. Marla M. Dean is a nationally recognized advocate and philanthropic strategist whose work sits at the intersection of health equity, economic justice, education and family well-being. As the strategic lead and visionary behind the Health Equity Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation, Dean has helped direct more than $95 million in investments benefiting more than 125 nonprofits. Her portfolio includes major investments in policy and advocacy, demonstration projects and collective action addressing issues ranging from D.C. autonomy and housing to immigration and healthcare access. She also leads the Developing Families Maternal Health Fund, a multimillion-dollar, two-generation initiative addressing maternal and infant health disparities, and produces the Foundation’s Health Equity & Economic Justice Summits.

A native Detroiter and longtime Ward 7 resident, Dean brings more than three decades of experience in education, nonprofit leadership and public service. Her career began in education, including 10 years teaching English and government in Detroit Public Schools, followed by leadership roles as an assistant principal, principal, turnaround principal, chief of schools and nonprofit CEO. She later founded Dean’s List Consulting, where she serves as Chief Learning and Innovation Officer and advises nonprofits, foundations and government agencies on childcare policy, health equity and economic justice. Dean also serves as National Board Chair of the birdSEED Foundation, advancing Black and Brown homeownership and housing justice.

Her civic leadership has included chairing the D.C. Commission on Poverty and Ward 7 Education Council and helping advocate for the $83 million Pay Equity Fund for early childhood educators. Dean is a member of Leadership Greater Washington’s Class of 2020 and a Diamond Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Her honors include the 2025 She’s 100 Equity Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Metropolitan D.C. Chapter, and recognition in the Washington Business Journal’s inaugural 2024 Innovators in Health Care class.

Dean earned her B.A. in Political Science and M.A. in Teaching and Learning from the University of Michigan, an Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from Michigan State University, and pursued doctoral studies in Educational Leadership and Organizational Theory at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Ward 7 with her husband, Steve, and is the mother of a son, Aaron, a Morehouse College graduate and filmmaker.