Marla Crockett

Certified Harwood Coach
Studio Associate
Researcher

Marla Crockett came to this work following a long career in public broadcasting, most of it spent in Dallas, where she worked as a news anchor, producer, talk show host and news manager. Her desire to report more authentically on local communities led her to civic journalism, a national reform movement that put the public at the center of news coverage, especially during election campaigns. The Harwood Institute was a critical voice in this effort and helped shape Marla’s work. Rich Harwood became a recurring guest on her talk show, which ran for nine years.   

After leaving Texas-and journalism-Marla pursued her passion for public engagement and storytelling. She served on the board of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) for six years, including three as its chair.  She became part of Kettering Foundation conversations on how to improve journalism and co-led a Kettering learning exchange with public stations that emphasized integrating public engagement into their newsroom routines.

But after going through a few Harwood labs, Marla’s desire to become a certified Harwood coach crystallized. That happened in 2016, and since then, Marla has coached teams in Kentucky, Hawaii and North Carolina. She’s served as a conversation partner in the Harwood Studio and helped conduct research for several of the Institute’s public capital reports. Working with public innovators has been the most rewarding work of Marla’s career, and her goal is to help them fulfill their desire to build better communities. 

On the personal side, Marla loves frequent get-togethers with her family, who live close by, and she enjoys going to theater and comedy shows with her husband, who’s a pretty funny guy. They also seek out biking and walking tours, but several times a year she goes on “girl posse” retreats with sisters and a close friend. They still talk on Zoom every week, but nothing beats in-person engagement!