Marcia Lawrence

Marcia joined the Pratt staff in 2023 to pursue the next phase of her career as a grant writer and development professional. Educated at Penn State University and Brooklyn College as a creative writer but entrepreneurial by nature, Marcia established a consultancy in 1996 upon the birth of her daughter. In that capacity she was able to apply her writing, editing, research, and strategic planning skills in academia, journalism, corporate communications, community health care, and the arts, working freelance with a clientele ranging from small up-and-coming ventures to large esteemed cultural institutions and industry leaders.

As a single, security-conscious mother, she sustained and grew her consultancy while simultaneously employed full-time as the sole grant writer for the Brownsville Community Development Corporation, achieving a record of significant success during her 18-year full-time tenure at the much-respected health care and social service organization.

Further deferring her dream to write the next great American work of fiction, Marcia is now focused on using her experience as a development generalist to help advance Pratt Institute’s goal to become a center of excellence for research. Her job includes prospecting for and managing a freely accessible database of foundations, corporations, and government agencies that fund new and advanced research projects, across the many disciplines relevant to Pratt. She works directly with Pratt faculty and research-minded students to draft strong grant applications, proposals, and reports, all of which are archived in ORSP’s repository of grant requests, which Marcia also helps to maintain.