Marzena Zukowska
Template:TOCnestleft Marzena Zukowska worked at National Domestic Workers Alliance and Ashoka Changemakers. Lives in London, United Kingdom.
Education
- Studied Science, Technology, and International Affairs at Georgetown University.
- Studied at Triton College.
Background
“Growing up, I spent most summers in suburban homes, going to work with my mom. She was a housecleaner. My family was undocumented. Often, we had to take three buses to get to work across town. But my mom was a fantastic storyteller. Her words — in Polish, our mother tongue — were my first insight into the power of language. For me, they breathed meaning into community, into culture, and into the everyday forms of resistance. Even today when I write, or create, or craft a communications strategy, her words help me remain rooted.”
Marzena Zukowska is a communications strategist, visual storyteller, writer, and queer feminist activist based in London, UK. For a decade, Marzena has developed narrative strategies and managed collaborations for leading political and social movements, from immigrants rights to the women’s resistance. In her various roles, she has overseen media departments; managed multi-stakeholder partnerships, from philanthropy to the entertainment industry; built functional and decentralized networks; conducted trainings with impacted community members; and designed and implemented innovative press plans.
Prior to her work with RoadMap, Marzena was the Director of Media Relations for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, using media to transform the narrative around care work in the United States. She worked on several legislative labor fights; the social impact campaign for the Oscar-winning film Roma; the TIMES UP protest at the 2018 Golden Globes; and the launch of Families Belong Together. Marzena built the press operation for Care in Action, the largest independent electoral field program in the state of Georgia during the 2018 midterm elections. And she worked with Ashoka Changemakers and LEGO Foundation on a multimillion dollar project to reframe the global conversation around creativity and learning.
In addition to consulting, Marzena helps lead the Radical Communicators Network, the go-to-hub for social change communicators. Passionate about bringing unconventional voices to the forefront of pop culture and the news media, she is currently conducting research on dominant narratives in the gaming industry and the potential of video games to become a lever for social justice.
Marzena’s words and writing can be found in Red Pepper, Forbes, Fast Company, Truthout, The American Prospect, and In These Times.[1]
RoadMap
Marzena Zukowska is a consultant with RoadMap, a Liberation Road affiliated consultancy group .[2]
Domestic Workers Bill of Rights
- Marzena Zukowska, marzena@domesticworkers.org, 872-216-3684
- Natalia Jaramillo, natalia@domesticworkers.org, (786) 317-3524
July 2019 Washington, DC —Today, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, alongside Senator Kamala Harris (CA) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), have announced that they will introduce groundbreaking new legislation to improve the lives of domestic workers and transform the way people work in America.
The first ever national Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which will be officially introduced early in the 116th Congress, will provide basic labor protections to more than two million nannies, house cleaners, and care workers across the country, while developing innovations for the future of one of the fastest growing occupations in the country.
“The work of domestic workers is so incredibly important, both as caregivers and as organizers. This is the work that our economy is built on, yet too often, it’s undervalued and underappreciated,” said Senator Kamala Harris. “In America, we all deserve basic rights, safety, and dignity in the workplace. By fighting for fairness and equal treatment, we are fighting for the best of who we are as a country.”
“For the first time in history, we have a chance to raise the bar for every domestic worker in our country, and set the stage for all working people,” said Ai-jen Poo, Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. “As people live longer, we have the opportunity to embrace an intergenerational future in America, where all of us are cared for at each stage of our lives. All of us deserve to work and live with safety and dignity, and this legislation ensures that no one is left behind.”
The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights will come on the heels of similar laws in eight states and one city enacted over the last decade. In addition to addressing issues facing domestic workers, the bill will:
Create new tools to ensure that these rights are real and that workers can exercise their rights without fear. “In this critical moment for our country, domestic workers are shaping the future of our economy and drawing the shape of our democracy,” said Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. “Our future depends on each one of us coming together to make change. And domestic workers are standing up for all of us as women, as immigrants, as workers, as people of color. Their strength, courage and power inspires us all as we fight together for workplace democracy.”[3]