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Cynthia Rubenstein: chronic
community activist
BY JANICE PARK
 "I
can probably name more breeds of cows, chickens, and pigs
than anyone else in Silver Spring and Takoma Park," says
Iowa transplant Cynthia Rubenstein. " I probably still
would make a really good field hand."
Rubenstein has followed almost every possible fork in the
road of her ambitions, most recently running for a seat on
the Montgomery County Council. She now directs a non-profit
education program aimed at helping youngsters re-realize their
"passion for learning."
Rubenstein now lives in Silver Spring with her husband, but
she grew up in a rural farming town, surrounded by people
whose priority was community, not a career. She was part of
a tight-knit group where people worked together.
"There were 1600 people in my town 47 years ago, and
its still 1600 today," she says. "The guy who owned
the local hardwood store was the mayor. One of the farmers
was head of the school board."
Even though the Takoma Park/Silver Spring area has a healthy
diversity of people, there is still a need to build and grow
community, Cynthia believes. Her lifelong interest in community-building
is the reason she has run for office.
"Local politics allows you to have a lot of community
contacts and to make a tangible, direct difference,"
she says.
Growing up, Rubenstein was very much into the arts, mostly
theater. She chuckles about her early ambitions: "I thought
I wanted to be an actress, until I was about 17."
In her early 20s, she wanted to be an artist. Still enjoying
the creative path, she became an interior designer. Work in
the community was always a side activity, though, and eventually
took over her artistic instincts.
Rubenstein says certain events have shaped her as a person.
She knows that experiences are to be learned from, not dwelled
on or swallowed as disappointment.
"I don't have any regrets for experiences I've had,
either negative, tough, hard, or easy," she says. "Everything
in life shapes you."
Perhaps this wise acceptance stems from the two defining
moments in her life. The first occurred when she was thirteen,
and her father was killed in a plane crash.
"From that point on, I grew up in a single-parent family,"
Cynthia says.
Cynthia then saw her mother in a new role as an independent
parent who not only had to raise them, but also had the tough
job of keeping the family together financially. She gratefully
remembers that the community was there for support and help.
Ever since that experience, Rubenstein has been an advocate
for community members supporting each other.
Rubenstein's other defining experience was spending a semester
overseas in France. She was suddenly thrust into a new world
where she didn't know anyone. Suddenly she was the outsider;
the foreigner.
"That was a real eye opener. I took some good lessons
from that. It made me curious, too, about other places and
people."
But perhaps Rubenstein's biggest challenge to date has been
running for office. "I don't know anyone that comes out
of that experience exactly the same person as they went in."
Rubenstein ran for Montgomery County Council's District 5
seat, which includes Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Kensington,
and Wheaton. Hearing her opponents and others helped her own
thinking on issues evolve.
"I was influenced by the people I listened to and spoke
to," she says.
With such a vast background in the arts (she was an Arts
and French major in college), Rubenstein is happy to see that
Silver Spring is budding into an arts and entertainment district.
"It's perfect for me to be so close to that. As soon
as AFI showed up, I got my membership and started going to
films every week. I'm excited to see Pyramid Atlantic [re]open."
Some people think the arts are new to Silver Spring, but
that isn't the case, she says. "There are a lot of artists
and writers in the Silver Spring and Takoma Park area. It
has always been here. I just think that there will be more
attention and a showcase on those areas, now that there is
official designation and encouragement of the arts."
Rubenstein beams when talking about her education program,
the Passion for Learning Initiative, a program of the Montgomery
County Business Roundtable for Education. The initiative's
mission is to get public school children excited again about
learning, with the help of speakers from local businesses.
Passion for Learning works with local children in kindergarten
through 5th grade at schools with higher rates of poverty
and mobility (student turnover within the school year), and
where English is a second language for many students.
The business people who come in to speak tie their presentations
to school curriculum.
"We had business people coming in and talking to the
kids in the classrooms about why what they learn in the classroom
is relevant," Rubenstein says. "We had a lady from
the Department of Economic Development talk to all the 3rd
graders about starting your own business. We had guys come
in and talk about electricity."
This first full year of this program utilized Takoma Park
and Silver Spring, because there is such a large business–and
cultural–community to tap.
"We have a good presence of artists who are in the media
arts, the performing arts, and the visual arts. I include
them under business," Rubenstein says.
Over the next 10 years, the program hopes to include 60 schools,
primarily in Takoma Park, Wheaton, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg
and Germantown. They are working their way up to include the
whole county.
"We will be working with anywhere from 3-5 schools each
year because the intent is to create some comprehensive partnerships
and make sure we have critical mass in each school, so it
can be meaningful and make a significant difference,"
Rubenstein says.
As long as there is a need, Rubenstein will continue participating
in local politics and education. For an Iowa girl, community
building is a natural instinct.
"The more I have been here, the more I have been taking
up what I have grown up with–a close-knit community–and
I'm trying to build it here. I call myself a chronic community
activist."
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