National Training and Information Center
The National Training and Information Center was a Chicago-based training and information operation associated with community-organizing networks focused on housing, racial justice, and economic justice.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The National Training and Information Center, commonly abbreviated NTIC, was a training and information operation connected with the community-organizing network later known as National People's Action. It was associated with Chicago-based activists Gale Cincotta and Shel Trapp, who founded National People's Action in 1972 as a federation of grassroots organizations working on racial and economic justice. NTIC supported that network by providing education, organizing instruction, and information resources to affiliated community groups. The center's work was closely tied to the housing and financial-policy campaigns pursued by National People's Action. Its associated organizers helped local groups understand lending practices, mortgage discrimination, redlining, federal housing policy, and the use of public and regulatory processes to challenge inequitable investment patterns. This training infrastructure contributed to a broader organizing model in which neighborhood organizations combined research, leadership development, coalition building, public demonstrations, and legislative advocacy. The network's policy priorities included federal housing-disclosure and community-reinvestment measures. Campaigns associated with National People's Action helped build support for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, and the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990. NTIC's role was not that of a conventional commercial brand or consumer-facing business; it functioned as an institutional resource for grassroots organizations and activists. Its outputs were therefore primarily training, information, strategy, and organizational capacity rather than physical products. For many years, Cincotta and Trapp used NTIC to train affiliates. After Trapp retired and Cincotta died in 2001, the broader organization continued but increasingly emphasized direct organizing, issue campaigns, and public action. The training programs historically offered through NTIC became less central to the network's public identity. National People's Action later became part of the 2016 merger that created People's Action, alongside the Alliance for a Just Society, USAction, and other progressive organizations. The available reference material does not establish whether NTIC continued as an independent operating organization after that transition, so its present legal and operational status is unclear.
History
The National Training and Information Center emerged as an institutional resource associated with National People's Action, a federation of grassroots community organizations established in Chicago in 1972 by Gale Cincotta and Shel Trapp. National People's Action brought together neighborhood groups seeking racial and economic justice, particularly in areas affected by redlining, disinvestment, discriminatory mortgage practices, and unequal access to housing finance. Within that network, NTIC supplied training and information intended to help local organizations develop the knowledge and skills needed to organize effectively. The center's function reflected the organizing methods of its founders. Rather than operating as a conventional consultancy or educational company, it served movement organizations and their members. Training covered the interpretation of lending and housing data, the mechanics of public policy, community leadership, campaign planning, coalition work, and the use of public accountability measures. Information resources helped local groups connect neighborhood experience with national debates over banking regulation, fair housing, mortgage disclosure, and community reinvestment. The training infrastructure supported National People's Action's participation in housing-policy campaigns. The broader network advocated measures that became associated with important federal housing and financial reforms, including the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, and the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990. These campaigns sought to make lending patterns more visible, require greater accountability from financial institutions, and expand affordable-housing policy. NTIC's contribution was primarily educational and organizational: it helped affiliates understand issues, prepare arguments, develop leaders, and coordinate action across communities. For many years, Cincotta and Trapp remained central to the network's training activities. The center's history was therefore closely connected to the leadership and evolution of National People's Action rather than to a separate commercial brand. After Trapp retired and Cincotta died in 2001, National People's Action continued operating, but its emphasis shifted. Organizing, issue campaigning, direct action, and national political advocacy became more prominent, while the formal training programs historically delivered through NTIC were de-emphasized. The broader network later pursued campaigns on financial regulation and economic inequality, including the Showdown events launched in 2009 against corporate lobbying and financial institutions considered too large to fail. Those later campaigns belong primarily to National People's Action and its successor organizations, although they represent the organizing tradition and institutional environment in which NTIC had operated. In 2016, National People's Action merged with the Alliance for a Just Society, USAction, and other progressive organizations to form People's Action and the related People's Action Institute. Public reference material does not clearly document NTIC as a continuing independent entity after that merger. Accordingly, its present status, legal structure, and any current programs remain unconfirmed.
- 2016
Merger into People's Action
[1]National People's Action merges with several progressive networks to create People's Action and People's Action Institute. The source does not establish a separate post-merger status for NTIC.
- 2009
Showdown campaign era begins
[1]National People's Action begins a series of Showdown events focused on corporate lobbying and financial institutions considered too big to fail.
- 2001
Leadership transition after Gale Cincotta's death
[1]Gale Cincotta dies. National People's Action continues, while the training role historically associated with NTIC becomes less prominent over time.
- 1990
National Affordable Housing Act campaign
[1]The associated network supports federal affordable-housing legislation, extending its long-running housing-policy agenda.
- 1977
Community Reinvestment Act campaign
[1]National People's Action advocates for the Community Reinvestment Act, linking community organizing with accountability for financial institutions serving local neighborhoods.
- 1975
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act campaign
[1]The associated organizing network supports federal housing legislation requiring greater public visibility into mortgage-lending patterns.
- 1972
National People's Action is founded
[1]Gale Cincotta and Shel Trapp establish National People's Action in Chicago. NTIC becomes associated with the network's training and information work for grassroots affiliates.
Products and positioning
A movement-support and capacity-building institution for grassroots community organizations, positioned around practical training, policy information, and organizing knowledge rather than commercial products.
Training and education
Affiliate organizing training
Training provided to community organizations affiliated with National People's Action. The work helped local activists develop leadership, campaign, research, coalition-building, and direct-action capabilities. It was designed for grassroots organizing rather than for commercial customers.
Research and information
Housing and lending information resources
Educational and informational materials concerning mortgage lending, redlining, housing discrimination, community reinvestment, and related public policy. These resources enabled neighborhood organizations to connect local evidence with regulatory and legislative campaigns.
Marketing campaigns
- 1990National Affordable Housing Act advocacy
United States
The network continued its housing-policy work by supporting federal legislation addressing affordable housing.
Outcome. The National Affordable Housing Act was enacted in 1990.
- 1977Community Reinvestment Act advocacy
United States
Community organizations associated with the network advocated stronger obligations for financial institutions to meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operated.
Outcome. The Community Reinvestment Act was enacted in 1977.
- 1975Home Mortgage Disclosure Act advocacy
United States
The associated National People's Action network supported legislation intended to make mortgage-lending patterns more transparent and expose discriminatory or exclusionary investment practices.
Outcome. The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act was enacted in 1975.
Brand decisions
2016
Integration into People's ActionM&ABackground
National People's Action joined other national progressive networks in a consolidation intended to create a broader organization for issue campaigns and elections.
Action taken
National People's Action merged with the Alliance for a Just Society, USAction, and other organizations to establish People's Action and People's Action Institute.
Aftermath
The source does not identify NTIC as an independent successor entity or confirm its continuing legal status.
- Shift from formal training toward organizing and direct actionStrategy
Background
After Shel Trapp's retirement and Gale Cincotta's death, National People's Action continued but gave less prominence to the training programs historically offered through NTIC.
Action taken
The broader network concentrated more heavily on organizing, issue campaigns, and direct action.
Aftermath
The available material does not document whether NTIC retained a separate operating structure after this change.
Recent events
- 2016
National People's Action becomes part of People's Action[1]
M&A
National People's Action joined the merger that established People's Action and the related People's Action Institute. The available source does not specify whether NTIC retained a separate legal identity.
National Training and Information Center supports affiliate training within National People's Action[1]
Other
The center was used by Gale Cincotta and Shel Trapp to provide training and information resources to organizations affiliated with National People's Action.
National People's Action reduces emphasis on NTIC-style training programs[1]
Other
Following the retirement of Shel Trapp and the death of Gale Cincotta, the associated network placed greater emphasis on organizing, issue campaigns, and direct action, making the training programs historically offered through NTIC less central.
Sources1 sources
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