Eddie Summers ‘04/’06M Fosters Sustainable Development in the Bronx

When Eddie Summers finished his undergraduate degree at Marist in 2004, he continued his education in multifaceted ways — and helped students from his hometown to do the same.

Summers grew up in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, and today, works as the Executive Director of the Bronx Private Industry Council (PIC). The Marist graduate, Class of 2004 and MPA Class of 2006, has spent most of his life working to help his community develop in a sustainable, inclusive way.

Eddie Summers ‘04/’06M is the Executive Director of the Bronx Private industry Council (PIC) and a former Presidential Fellow of Marist. Source: Marist News

“This morning I spoke about the beloved community that MLK talked about,” Summers said, at a luncheon is in honor on Jan. 24, following the Catharine Street Community Center’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Breakfast, where he was the keynote speaker. 

“That beloved community is something that I fundamentally believed in,” he said. Summers aims to embody the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. in his own work with empowering the Bronx in its current stage of exponential growth and development. 

Summers’ work aims to empower Bronx residents to create meaningful and sustainable paths by connecting local students with employment opportunities that align with local industries. According to a Sept. 2019 Marist News story, PIC connected more than 400 high school students to internships with 27 different community businesses during the summer of 2019.

As the Bronx changes with increasing investments and development plans, part of Summers’ job is to make sure that the students he works with to learn and evolve alongside it. 

Summers was a member of the HEOP (Higher Education Opportunity Program) at Marist, and today, works to recycle similar opportunities to Bronx residents. The Marist HEOP program sports a graduation rate of 95 percent for the past 5 years. “I am most proud of HEOP because of our graduation rate here at Marist,” President Murray said at the luncheon.

Summers said that part of his work with the Bronx is to differentiate its development strategy from Brooklyn, where gentrification caused displacement and housing struggles in the past few years. 

The Bronx has seen $18.96 billion in development since 2009, according to the borough president’s most recent development report. A majority of the developments have gone to residential units and housing. 

“I predicted this when I was doing my PhD, and it’s happening — so we want to make sure that while this happens we do it in an equitable and inclusive way,” said Summers, a former Marist Presidential Fellow.

At the luncheon, President Murray asked him how Marist can be more attractive to students with similar backgrounds and experiences as the ones he’s worked with in the Bronx.

“We’re in a crisis in higher ed. — and I don’t think folks really realize,” Summers responded. “With young people particularly from the Bronx are looking for institutions that will really help them to shape the rest of their lives, [colleges] are going to have to think about how they structure programs.”

Summers said he is inspired by moments where his 7-year-old son asks him meaningful questions about global injustices to continue doing the work that he does.