Toya Fick

President & CEO

she/her
toya [at] mmt.org


Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
James Baldwin

With proven organizational leadership expertise as well as deep relationships across Oregon, Toya Fick joins Meyer Memorial Trust as president and CEO at a pivotal moment for the organization as it seeks to deliver on a newly defined mission: to accelerate racial, social and economic justice for the collective well-being of Oregon’s lands and peoples.

“The challenges ahead, for our state as much as for our country and our planet, cannot be met by any one individual or organization. It will take collaboration the likes of which we have not seen before — transparent, honest, nimble, responsive, focused and sustained.”

Toya served on Meyer's Board of Trustees for over six years, including as chair through a series of overlapping crises in 2020 — historic wildfires, the COVID-19 pandemic and the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Elijah McCLain and too many others. In the wake of a growing movement to end systemic and structural racism, Toya played a primary role in Meyer’s launch of Justice Oregon for Black Lives. The five-year, $25 million initiative is the largest in Meyer’s history.

As the Oregon Executive Director of Stand for Children, she was instrumental in the passage of Measure 98, providing more than $1 billion to connect more kids to a brighter future. The voter-approved measures have changed the way Oregon invests in and supports students. Measure 98 has increased the number of career-related programs in the state by 40% and is often credited with driving a record six-point increase in graduation rates, with students of color and low-income students making the biggest gains.

In 2017, she helped establish the Center for High School Success, which partners with schools and districts to ensure that ninth graders are on track for graduation. The program has since grown to nine states, serving more than 154 school districts and 50,000 students across the country. Toya was also instrumental in crafting the Student Success Act, which has provided over $2 billion to schools throughout the state.

A resident of Portland, Toya grew up in rural Louisiana and was the first in her family to attend college. She graduated from the University of Chicago and began her career as a middle school educator. She moved from the school halls to the halls of Congress when she joined the legislative staff of then Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Toya relocated to Portland in 2010 and quickly fell in love with Oregon.

She currently serves on the boards of the University of Oregon, the International Women’s Forum - Oregon, and Foundations for a Better Oregon.

Grateful as she is for the impact she gets to make in her professional life, she is most proud to be the mother to two incredible children.

Toya joined Meyer as a trustee in 2016. She became President and CEO in September 2022.