Msgr. Marvin Mottet honed his social justice skills as a student at St. Ambrose College, a priest and teacher in the Davenport Diocese and leader of the National Campaign for Human Development in Washington, D.C. His networking skills led a future saint (Mother Teresa) and a national civil rights leader (Martin Luther King, Jr.) to agree to come to Davenport on separate occasions to receive the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award. He helped launch Quad Cities Interfaith and Interfaith Housing, a congregation-based organization to address the causes of poverty locally. Numerous organizations that address poverty and injustice have taken root at his instigation and his ability to persuade others to join him.