Dan Schifrin & Marvis Phillips

Dan Schifrin is a writer, teacher and curator of conversations. He has taught creative writing at UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, and Stanford University Continuing Studies, and served as writer-in-residence at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Dan is the author, among other things, of the play “Sweet and Sour”; the one-man show “String Theory”; and a forthcoming memoir about fatherhood and science fiction. His essays and stories have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and McSweeneys, and he is the winner of the 2016 Wilner Award for Short Fiction from San Francisco State University. He recently founded StoryForward, which provides programming around the intersection of story and community.

Marvis Phillips is a San Francisco activist and community organizer. Currently the founder and board chair of Alliance for a Better District 6, which supports the Tenderloin and adjacent neighborhoods, he has also led the North of Market Planning Commission (NOMPAC). For more than 40 years he has worked closely with various city agencies to protect the housing security, physical safety and legal rights of San Francisco residents.

Process

Marvis and I had several long conversations on the phone, which was the safest and most effective way to talk. In between calls I did additional research about his work in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, including studying maps to see how the neighborhood has changed under his watch. Because so much of his work has focused on saving residential buildings; improving the safety of those buildings; preserving historic edifices; and helping create new institutions (like a park and a permanent police station), a customized map reflecting Marvis’ influence seemed an accessible way to indicate visually the gifts he has offered San Francisco. Because Marvis has an exceptional memory for dates and locations, it was fairly easy to assemble a very accurate map of his work. And because he is analytical and driven by information, offering a gift powered by data (a Google map) seemed appropriate. On a personal note, it was really inspiring to meet a community leader who had dedicated himself so fully to helping those around him. As someone who is not focused as much on systems, information and institutional partnerships, I wanted to learn how Marvis deployed these interests to effect meaningful change. It was a reminder to me that “all politics is local,” and that one person, operating from their HQ in a small apartment, can change the world.