Peter Dreier to Receive Annual Marv Gross Award from Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center

Long-time social justice advocate Peter Dreier is the winner of this year’s Marv Gross Award from the membership of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center. 

The Social Justice Committee created the award to honor its former chairman, Rabbi Marv Gross, who passed away in 2019. Each year the winner receives $500 to go to the charity of their choice. In addition, the winner’s name is inscribed on a plaque attached to a beautiful stone sculpture created by temple member Brian Mark. 

Dreier is known for creating what Congressman John Lewis called “good trouble.” Since moving to the LA area in 1992, he has worked closely with community organizing groups, tenants rights groups and labor unions. He started a group called Invest in Kids that organized parents in the Pasadena Unified School District to improve funding for local schools.

 He also served for over a decade on the board of the Pasadena Educational Foundation. He helped lead the successful campaign for a municipal minimum wage in Pasadena and was the founder of Pasadenans Organizing for Progress (POP) that has pushed the city to adopt policies that promote fairness towards working families and low-income residents. 

Dreier is the Dr. E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles and founding Chair of Occidental’s Urban and Environmental Policy Department. He is a regular contributor to the LA Times, the New York Times and Washington Post as well as the Pasadena Star-News and Pasadena NOW.

This year’s award will be presented at the temple’s annual Martin Luther King Shabbat service on Friday, January 13 at 7:00 p.m. In commemoration of Dr. King’s legacy.