Erin Mazursky serves as Executive Director of Over Zero, which works to build resilient communities that stand against political and identity-based violence and forge a world whose people have rebuilt the bonds and norms to live into a connected, thriving future. Maz is a seasoned leader with two decades of experience at the intersection of community-building, democracy, and resistance to authoritarianism. She has supported grassroots movements in over 20 countries and brings deep expertise in organizing, movement strategy, and peacebuilding. Maz founded the Participatory Democracy Lab to help clients design community-driven solutions and strengthen democratic resilience. She previously led Families Belong Together at the National Domestic Workers Alliance and founded Rhize, a global network supporting pro-democracy and social justice movements worldwide. Her career began as a student organizer co-founding STAND, and later as a youth advisor at USAID after organizing for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. Her work has been featured in outlets including The Hill, Foreign Policy, and Waging Nonviolence. A fourth-generation New Yorker with southern roots, Maz lives in Brooklyn with her wife and two young children.
The effort to eradicate hate requires the active participation of every component of our society, to include governments, the private sector, communities of faith and indeed every aspect of civil society. There is no more urgent task in front of us. The organizers of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit are doing the United States and the world an enormous service by tackling hatred and extremism with a focus on honest dialogue and conversation, genuine learning and practical solutions. This will not happen overnight, but the Pittsburgh community’s leadership in this effort is genuinely inspiring and motivating.
