diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 22aa98c..8331f4b 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/modules/postgres v0.43.0
 	github.com/yuin/goldmark v1.8.2
 	golang.org/x/crypto v0.53.0
+	golang.org/x/net v0.55.0
 )
 
 require (
@@ -93,7 +94,6 @@ require (
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.43.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.43.0 // indirect
 	go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/net v0.55.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/sync v0.21.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/sys v0.46.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/text v0.38.0 // indirect
diff --git a/internal/core/org_markdown_test.go b/internal/core/org_markdown_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1f8f7b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/core/org_markdown_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+package core
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestOrgDescriptionRendersMarkdown verifies the public org page renders the org
+// description through the markdown pipeline (sanitized HTML), not as raw source.
+func TestOrgDescriptionRendersMarkdown(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	st, ctx, ts, h := splitServer(t)
+	owner, err := st.CreateUser(ctx, "mdowner", "")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	org, err := st.CreateOrg(ctx, "Markdown Org", owner.ID)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := st.UpdateOrg(ctx, org.ID, org.Slug, org.Name, "We run **many** repeaters.\n\n- one\n- two", "NA"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	body := readBody(t, do(t, ts, h.root, "/orgs/"+org.Slug))
+	if !strings.Contains(body, "<strong>many</strong>") {
+		t.Fatal("org description did not render markdown emphasis (<strong>many</strong> missing)")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(body, "<li>one</li>") {
+		t.Fatal("org description did not render a markdown list")
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(body, "**many**") {
+		t.Fatal("raw markdown source leaked into the rendered page")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/core/templates/my_orgs.html b/internal/core/templates/my_orgs.html
index c9d2095..d6638f5 100644
--- a/internal/core/templates/my_orgs.html
+++ b/internal/core/templates/my_orgs.html
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
         {{if .Org.Region}}<span class="badge bg-secondary-lt">{{.Org.Region}}</span>{{end}}
         {{if eq .Role "admin"}}<span class="badge bg-success-lt">admin</span>{{else}}<span class="badge bg-azure-lt">member</span>{{end}}
       </div>
-      {{if .Org.Description}}<p class="text-secondary mb-0 mt-1">{{.Org.Description}}</p>{{end}}
+      {{if .Org.Description}}<p class="text-secondary mb-0 mt-1">{{markdowntext .Org.Description}}</p>{{end}}
     </a>
     {{end}}
   </div>
diff --git a/internal/core/templates/org.html b/internal/core/templates/org.html
index 4830cac..d68d879 100644
--- a/internal/core/templates/org.html
+++ b/internal/core/templates/org.html
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@
       <div class="card-header"><h3 class="card-title">About</h3></div>
       <div class="card-body">
         {{if .Org.Description}}
-        <p class="mb-0">{{.Org.Description}}</p>
+        <div class="markdown">{{markdown .Org.Description}}</div>
         {{else}}
         <p class="text-secondary mb-0">No description yet.</p>
         {{end}}
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@
           <div class="mb-3">
             <label class="form-label" for="org_description">Description</label>
             <textarea class="form-control" id="org_description" name="description" rows="3" maxlength="2000" placeholder="What this organization is about, where it operates, etc.">{{.Org.Description}}</textarea>
+            <small class="form-hint">Markdown supported — headings, lists, links, and emphasis.</small>
           </div>
           <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Save profile</button>
         </form>
diff --git a/internal/marketing/templates/orgs.html b/internal/marketing/templates/orgs.html
index 8984c67..d3e8699 100644
--- a/internal/marketing/templates/orgs.html
+++ b/internal/marketing/templates/orgs.html
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
     <span class="fw-bold">{{.Name}}</span>
     {{if .Region}}<span class="badge bg-secondary-lt">{{.Region}}</span>{{end}}
   </div>
-  {{if .Description}}<p class="text-secondary mb-1 mt-1">{{.Description}}</p>{{end}}
+  {{if .Description}}<p class="text-secondary mb-1 mt-1">{{markdowntext .Description}}</p>{{end}}
   <div class="text-secondary small">{{.MemberCount}} member{{if ne .MemberCount 1}}s{{end}} · {{.RepeaterCount}} repeater{{if ne .RepeaterCount 1}}s{{end}}</div>
 </a>
 {{end}}
diff --git a/internal/web/env.go b/internal/web/env.go
index f39db12..1a27e9d 100644
--- a/internal/web/env.go
+++ b/internal/web/env.go
@@ -131,6 +131,11 @@ func (e *Env) SetDefaultLayout(name string) { e.Renderer.defaultLayout = name }
 var templateFuncs = template.FuncMap{
 	"mhz": func(hz int64) string { return strconv.FormatFloat(float64(hz)/1e6, 'f', -1, 64) },
 	"khz": func(hz int64) string { return strconv.FormatFloat(float64(hz)/1e3, 'f', -1, 64) },
+	// markdown renders user-authored markdown (e.g. an org description) to
+	// sanitized HTML. Wrap the output in a `.markdown` container for spacing.
+	"markdown": Markdown,
+	// markdowntext flattens that same markdown to plain text for compact teasers.
+	"markdowntext": MarkdownText,
 }
 
 func NewRenderer(cfg *config.Config, surfaceTemplates fs.FS) (*Renderer, error) {
diff --git a/internal/web/markdown.go b/internal/web/markdown.go
index c9bad73..6b9d9c5 100644
--- a/internal/web/markdown.go
+++ b/internal/web/markdown.go
@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@ package web
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"html/template"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/microcosm-cc/bluemonday"
 	"github.com/yuin/goldmark"
+	"golang.org/x/net/html"
 )
 
 // goldmark with default options does NOT pass raw HTML through (it escapes it),
@@ -29,3 +31,36 @@ func Markdown(src string) template.HTML {
 	}
 	return template.HTML(mdPolicy.SanitizeBytes(buf.Bytes())) //nolint:gosec // G203: output is bluemonday-sanitized by mdPolicy
 }
+
+// MarkdownText flattens markdown to a single line of plain text — the formatting
+// (emphasis, headings, list bullets, link syntax) stripped, leaving just the
+// words. Used for compact teasers (e.g. org directory cards) where rendered
+// markdown would be out of place. Returns the source unchanged on parse error.
+func MarkdownText(src string) string {
+	if src == "" {
+		return ""
+	}
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	if err := mdRenderer.Convert([]byte(src), &buf); err != nil {
+		return src
+	}
+	doc, err := html.Parse(&buf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return src
+	}
+	var b strings.Builder
+	var walk func(*html.Node)
+	walk = func(n *html.Node) {
+		if n.Type == html.TextNode {
+			// Separate every text run with a space; block boundaries otherwise glue
+			// adjacent words together ("one"+"two"). Runs collapse below.
+			b.WriteString(n.Data)
+			b.WriteByte(' ')
+		}
+		for c := n.FirstChild; c != nil; c = c.NextSibling {
+			walk(c)
+		}
+	}
+	walk(doc)
+	return strings.Join(strings.Fields(b.String()), " ")
+}
diff --git a/internal/web/markdown_test.go b/internal/web/markdown_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e0b62d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/web/markdown_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+package web
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestMarkdownText(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := map[string]struct{ in, want string }{
+		"empty":     {"", ""},
+		"emphasis":  {"We run **many** repeaters.", "We run many repeaters."},
+		"heading":   {"# Buffalo Mesh\n\nCovering the whole area.", "Buffalo Mesh Covering the whole area."},
+		"list":      {"Gear:\n\n- radios\n- antennas", "Gear: radios antennas"},
+		"link":      {"See [our site](https://example.com) for more.", "See our site for more."},
+		"collapses": {"line one\n\n\nline two", "line one line two"},
+	}
+	for name, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if got := MarkdownText(c.in); got != c.want {
+				t.Fatalf("MarkdownText(%q) = %q, want %q", c.in, got, c.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/web/templates/org_public.html b/internal/web/templates/org_public.html
index 18495bd..7fe47ed 100644
--- a/internal/web/templates/org_public.html
+++ b/internal/web/templates/org_public.html
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@
       <div class="card-header"><h3 class="card-title">About</h3></div>
       <div class="card-body">
         {{if .Org.Region}}<div class="d-flex align-items-center text-secondary mb-2">{{template "icon-map-pin" "me-1"}}{{.Org.Region}}</div>{{end}}
-        {{if .Org.Description}}<p class="mb-0">{{.Org.Description}}</p>{{else}}<p class="text-secondary mb-0">This organization hasn't added a description yet.</p>{{end}}
+        {{if .Org.Description}}<div class="markdown">{{markdown .Org.Description}}</div>{{else}}<p class="text-secondary mb-0">This organization hasn't added a description yet.</p>{{end}}
         <div class="hr-text">Admins</div>
         {{if .Admins}}
         <div class="d-flex flex-wrap gap-2">