© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WECS · WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM · WVOF
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Hartford Community Activist Dies at 67

Courtesy of Institute for Community Research

http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/2012/2012_06_14_File%20LN%20120614%20berg%20obit.wav.mp3

A woman who worked tirelessly in the community to enact social change has died.

67-year-old Marlene Berg was one of the co-founders of Institute for Community Research in Hartford. 

Berg had just retired from the Institute for Community Research as the Associate Director of Training this past January after working there for more than 25 years. Her colleagues remember her as a passionate activist and researcher.

"Marlene was one of the bravest people I'd ever met. She was never afraid to say anything to anyone regardless of the consequences."

Dr. Jean Schensul is the Institute's founding Director and Senior Scientist.

She says Berg was her best critic and a close friend.  She remembers the many young researchers Berg encouraged throughout her career

"She loved working with kids she was a kid herself."

Schensul said one of the projects Berg headed up was the Youth Action Research Institute where teens learned how to do effective research on issues that impacted them like teen dating violence and racism.

"It was a very progressive, very exciting, very promising, very wonderful way of working with young people in the city helping kids to express themselves, involving them in visual and performance research, encouraging them to advocate for policies that would improve circumstances for young people."

Her career also took her overseas where she spent time in India training graduate students in their research of alcoholism and HIV risk among low income men.

When she was diagnosed with cancer, Berg didn't let it keep her from her passion. Schensul says Berg kept continuing her work up until her death--she was even in the process of planning a three-week road trip. She passed away May 29.

A memorial for Berg will be held next Wednesday, June 20 at the Mandell Jewish community center in West Hartford.

Lucy leads Connecticut Public's strategies to deeply connect and build collaborations with community-focused organizations across the state.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.