Nancy Ramirez Arriaga

Nancy’s commitment and approach to social, political and economic justice are shaped by her binational experiences and her intersectional identities as a Latina immigrant of indigenous heritage from Mexico. She is anchored in her upbringing and the strength of a working-class community, and aware of acquired class privilege and proximity to capital. 

As a Program Officer at Meyer Memorial Trust, Nancy champions a body of work centered on racial and economic justice, and she is proud to see her contributions reflected in Meyer’s new mission to accelerate racial, social and economic justice. She is a connector and collaborator, working to drive community-centered research on the local racial wealth gap; opportunities for dialogue and narrative shaping; and cross-sectoral, statewide efforts to support community-driven solutions such as the Latinx Community Wealth Building Network and the Oregon Economic Justice Roundtable. 

Nancy recognizes philanthropy’s role in creating — and its potential to address — our most pressing inequities and their impacts. In 2016, she intentionally joined philanthropy to influence the direction of this tension towards justice. She brings to this work over two decades in the nonprofit sector as a strategist, developer, director, adviser, consultant and board member. Her contributions have materialized in resources for communities and organizations; more equitable and justice-oriented tools, policies and practices; and expanded individual and institutional capacity to hold tension points and multiple truths.  

Nancy holds a Master of Arts in Leadership and Organizational Development from Saybrook University and a Bachelor of Arts in Administration of Justice from Portland State University. She also studied at Universidad Latina de América in Morelia, Mexico and received political training at Harvard University.