Meyer recently engaged in a strategic planning process that led to a number of changes in our grantmaking process and the values we hold at the center of our work. I recently sat down with Kaberi Banerjee Murthy, Meyer’s chief impact officer, to discuss Meyer's evolving strategy, how the community has informed our decision making and funding approach, and what this all means for our nonprofit partners and allies across Oregon.

 

Roy: How is Meyer changing its approach to grantmaking?

Kaberi: Meyer is making three major shifts to how we practice philanthropy. The first is the shift of our mission, specifically from a focus on equity to a focus on justice. The second is the shift in our grantmaking approach, specifically moving toward trust-based philanthropy and participatory grantmaking. And finally, we’ve shifted to using an explicitly anti-racist, intersectional feminist approach throughout our work.

These shifts are the result of a years-long learning and reimagining process, during which we heard loud and clear from Oregonians that Meyer needs to be in deeper relationship with community and partner differently as we do our work.

Roy: How are these shifts going so far?

Kaberi: I’ve been so humbled and impressed by the hard work and dedication of our staff, nonprofit partners and community members. In my experience, it’s rare for private philanthropy to attempt even one of these substantive shifts, let alone three at once. It’s challenging work, but we’re doing it because we know we need to change in some pretty big ways to deliver on the promises we’ve made to our fellow Oregonians.

Without deliberately shifting the power that comes with Meyer’s resources, platform and prominence from the foundation to our community, we would be impeding justice, rather than accelerating it.

Roy: What do these shifts mean in terms of concrete changes that nonprofit partners will begin to see in the coming months and years?

Kaberi: To me, “trust-based philanthropy,” means embracing an approach to grantmaking that explicitly addresses the inherent power imbalances between funders, nonprofits and communities. It is fundamentally about redistributing power in ways that minimize those power imbalances as much as possible. In concrete terms, that means things like shifting to multi-year, flexible, operating grants; streamlined applications and reporting; and a commitment to building non-extractive funding relationships that are grounded in dignity, mutuality and curiosity.

Roy: Meyer has been explicitly focused on racial justice for several years, but the addition of an “intersectional feminist” framework is new — what can you share about that addition?

Kaberi: It’s no secret that institutional philanthropy was predicated on racist, patriarchal systems of dominance and control. Early philanthropists accumulated much of their wealth through utilization of extractive economies that have created intergenerational harm and have led to the most persistent problems in our society.

If we’re to find antidotes to those harmful ways of being, intersectional feminism will be critical to that unlearning. Angela Davis once said: “When Black women win victories, it is a boost for virtually every segment of society.” In that spirit, one of our guiding questions during planning, as we imagined a multicultural feminist future that works for everyone, was: What would it look and feel like to live in an Oregon in which Black women are thriving?

In addition our belief that intersectional feminism is central to the pursuit of justice, we also know that women, girls, femmes, LGBTQ folks and gender expansive people in Oregon face some of the largest gender-based disparities in the nation. As the Women's Foundation's Count Her In report identified, whether we're looking at rates of violence or child care costs, mental health disparities or wage gaps, gender-based injustice in Oregon harms hundreds of thousands of individuals and families — and our state as a whole.

If our goal is to accelerate racial, social and economic justice in Oregon, we must focus on the intersections of gender, race and class. And with less than 2% of charitable giving nationally going towards gender justice, we believe it is imperitive for Meyer to take an intersectional feminist approach to our work overall and to contribute specifically to this area of social change in our state.

Roy: What was the catalyst for making these big shifts?

Kaberi: For years, there was a growing sense at Meyer that we were making lots of grants that were values-aligned, but hadn’t fully defined what our work was in service to. We felt the need to clarify our vision and deepen our ongoing work to understand what the community is asking of us.

Funding has rarely been informed, let alone determined, by the very communities that foundations say they are committed to serving. Of course, there are exceptions to this. Over Meyer’s four decades of grantmaking, we have tried to break away from these dominant systems in various ways — sometimes we’ve been successful, other times less so.

Through our planning journey, we identified that shifting our mission, strategy, and grantmaking practices would be important changes for bringing clarity to our work. In making these shifts, we are striving to reckon with our power and privilege, centering listening and learning more than dictating and determining, and trusting the communities whose wisdom has long led social justice work.

Roy: When will Meyer begin making funding available through this new framework?

Kaberi: We have already awarded more than $28 million this year between prior commitments and transition grants, and we look forward to awarding the rest under our new framework. Most of this year’s remaining funds will be allocated through participatory means, including funds dedicated to Justice Oregon for Black Lives.

Over the next several months, we will convene advisory tables where community members will be invited to help co-create our participatory grantmaking process and inform Meyer’s strategic approach more broadly. This year we are listening, deepening relationships and trying some things out as we plan for more robust implementation of our framework next year and beyond. I’m looking forward to seeing what unfolds and how we can continue to build on it in the years to come.

 

A graphic illustration from Meyer's Learning Week in 2020, an important milestone on the journey towards a new strategic framework and approach to grantmaking. Credit: Fred Joe

It is with great pleasure that I share with you that the Meyer Board of Trustees has named Toya Fick to be the organization's next Chief Executive Officer. She will be Meyer's fourth CEO in its four-decade history.

Toya is a true champion for children, youth and families throughout Oregon. She has demonstrated her leadership prowess, her understanding of Oregon and her deep commitment to advocacy through partnerships. In her decade at Stand for Children, including as Oregon Executive Director for the last seven years, Toya led the charge to draft Measure 98. Since its passing, Oregon has put over $750 million into high schools across the state, leading to a 40% increase in career-related programs offered throughout the state and a record 6-point increase in graduation rates, with students of color and low-income students making the biggest gains. Toya was also instrumental in the passage of the Student Success Act, Oregon's largest categorical investment in education in state history at $1 billion a year.

On accepting the position, Toya said, "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as a trustee for the past six years, and I am humbled to be trusted with the awesome responsibility of continuing Meyer’s important work. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance racial, social and economic justice throughout Oregon."

Toya also knows Meyer well, both as a grantee and as a trustee. She has served on Meyer's Board of Trustees for the last six years, and served as Chair during Oregon's historic wildfires, the nation's racial-justice reckoning and the height of the COVID pandemic. In close collaboration with Meyer's executive team, Toya and her trustee colleagues navigated the convergent crises with speed, empathy and boldness, including the launch of Justice Oregon for Black Lives, a five-year, $25 million initiative and the largest in Meyer's history.

Beyond that, Toya has also been a vitally engaged partner with staff and trustees throughout the organization's strategy work. With proven organizational leadership expertise as well as deep relationships across Oregon, Toya takes the helm at a pivotal moment for Meyer, as it introduces a new strategic framework and a new mission statement: To accelerate racial, social and economic justice for the collective well-being of Oregon's lands and peoples.

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 teacher with Teach For America. She moved from the school halls to the halls of Congress when she joined the legislative staff of then Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Grateful as she is for the impact she gets to make in her professional life, Toya remains focused on her most important role: mother to two incredible young children who attend Oregon’s public schools.

In closing, Toya is all the things we hope and look for in a CEO: smart, passionate, experienced, empathetic and ready. It is thrilling to think about her potential to continue her strong and meaningful work at Meyer, with our new mission and as we look towards the next chapter in our story. Please join me in welcoming Toya to this new role. I look forward to her leadership in the years ahead.

With gratitude,

— Janet

Four years ago, I came to Meyer Memorial Trust to deliver on the mission of a flourishing and equitable Oregon. I leave it now knowing Meyer has a dedicated team ready and excited to deliver on a renewed sense of purpose and a mission worthy of these times. The new mission better reflects what Oregon needs this organization to focus on now: Meyer accelerates racial, social and economic justice for the collective well-being of Oregon’s lands and peoples.

This didn’t happen overnight and I didn’t do it alone. Every step of the way, I was joined, guided and inspired by a deeply committed board and fiercely sharp and passionate staff willing to see the world clearly, reckon with a troubling past, dream of a better future and have the discipline to ask ourselves over and over again: Do our decisions remove barriers or reinforce them? While we looked inward to better live our values, we looked outward to our Oregon communities to show us the way.

A Shift Towards Justice

I entered an organization focused on equity. I leave it focused on justice. This shift is essential. We don’t have to wallow in the past but we ignore it at our peril. We must know and acknowledge our Native histories. We must understand the legacy of white supremacy, colonization and racial exclusion. We must learn from our shared past in order to know what we need to correct from the long-lasting harms and injustices that live on today. We must know on what false promises and faulty premises our systems were built so we can dismantle them and create new ones that deliver on our mission, not make it impossible to achieve.

My life as a Black woman and my experience in academia, government, civil rights and environmental justice advocacy have taught me that power and money are tools. And how they are wielded means everything. When we looked at who we gave grants to and saw that there were few leaders of color on our roster, we knew that meant we were not doing our part to serve all the peoples of Oregon. When we looked and saw that we had no partnerships with tribes whose ancestral lands make up Oregon, we knew that we were not in relationships with the people who we could learn from the most.

Driven by Community, A Sharper Focus on Native-led Efforts

So I committed to making those connections myself, in person. My conversations with tribal communities in all corners of the state helped to lay the groundwork for tangible commitments like adding a dedicated budget line for Native communities in our grantmaking as we continued to infuse funding for Native-focused efforts across all of our programs. But perhaps most critically and among the shared achievements I am most proud of, is the ongoing transformation of Meyer’s culture to reflect a fuller understanding of the interconnected nature of our relationship to Oregon’s land and peoples.

In long-term efforts like the Willamette River Initiative, now Nesika Wilamut, we’ve helped provide the stable infrastructure to shift towards that more evolved mindset. Nesika Wilamut describes itself as a “community-driven network that weaves together people and communities who care about human and ecological well-being in the Willamette River Basin.” I believe passionately in Meyer’s ability to continue iterating, listening and evolving to more fully realize that bolder and more expansive vision of collective well-being that our staff and board now share.

With this wider aperture, and our experience working in and with communities through times of inspiring mobilization and local power-building amid a pandemic, an uprising and a forest on fire, we are now better prepared to see connections across issues, to use our voice to speak to systems of opportunity alongside those of oppression. Meyer is poised to have the impact I imagine Fred Meyer wanted us to have. And we are set up to succeed.

Living our Mission

Words can be powerful, but they’re nothing if not backed up with action. A mission alone is a signal. But a committed staff and board behind a mission are a true force. At Meyer, we take the word “accelerate” seriously. Movement toward supporting community-led and trust-based grantmaking needs to happen faster. And then there’s that word justice. Justice goes beyond building a flourishing and equitable Oregon. It is a commitment to correction. Our commitment to repair and restore.

Meyer is already living our new mission and desire to have deep structural impact. Even before we finalized our future direction, we established Justice Oregon for Black Lives, Meyer’s largest single initiative in our 40-year history. Justice Oregon invests in Black organizations, communities, leadership, families, wisdom and opportunity. We are engaging Oregon’s Black community as the experts on how best to strategically invest in Black success as a way to not only support Black life, but also end a culture of racism that has systemically harmed our lands and peoples since our state’s founding.

By following the lead of communities, Meyer is eager to help cultivate a future where Oregonians root for each other rather than fear each other. “Without community, there is no liberation,” Audre Lorde once wrote, “but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist.”

Our Collective Promise

We need to embrace that Oregon is made up of neighbors. From building our headquarters in a historically Black neighborhood, to advancing economic justice with Latino farmworkers who have long been stewards of our agriculture, to learning from the vast knowledge of our tribal neighbors, we are rich in generational wisdom here in Oregon. Tapping it for our future, learning to live well — not only with each other, but for each other — improves everyone’s well-being.

I am leaving Meyer, but will forever remain committed to its new mission. This is my life’s work. They say it is a privilege to plant a seed for a tree whose shade you won’t enjoy, but I believe this seed is sprouting fast and growing strong. I believe Meyer’s justice-focused, community-centered philanthropy will be a beacon for all who want to live in a more just world. It has been an honor to contribute to it and Oregon’s bright future.

—Michelle

Michelle J. DePass at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Meyer Memorial Trust building in 2019. Credit: Fred Joe

Dear friends,

As chair of Meyer Memorial Trust's board of trustees, I have had the distinct honor of working side by side with Meyer CEO Michelle J. DePass since she came to lead the organization in 2018. We've become more than valued colleagues; we've become close friends and allies in Meyer's work.

So, it is with deep appreciation to Michelle that I share with you her decision to step down as CEO by the end of February 2022. Her impact on Meyer and on the communities and organizations we serve and partner with cannot be overstated. The trustees and I thank Michelle for her vision, her energy, her focus and her leadership toward racial and gender justice in Oregon.

Below is a message Michelle shared with Meyer staff yesterday. We will be sharing more in the new year about Michelle's accomplishments, what it means for Meyer going forward and how the trustees will find the right person to assume the mantle of CEO.

Michelle – thank you, again. You've led us and inspired us brilliantly.

Sincerely,

Janet Hamada

Board Chair

Meyer Memorial Trust

___________________________

FROM: Michelle J. DePass
TO: Meyer Staff

Dear Meyer family,

When I came to Oregon in 2018 to lead this incredible organization, I had a vision for what we could do together. And as much as I dreamt about where we could go, tapping into each other's support and energy, I am prouder and more grateful than I had imagined I could be.

Over the summer of 2021, Meyer's Board of Trustees – advancing our equity journey – unanimously approved putting racial and gender justice at the center of what we do. We undertook a deep dive into our grantmaking approaches. We developed a strategy that will chart Meyer's course for the years ahead, a trajectory guided by the needs and the wisdom of the communities we serve. I am incredibly excited for us to share more in the new year with our communities about that strategic framework and how it will strengthen our work and transform this place we call home.

In short, the trustees, our executive team and the incredible folks that make up Meyer are a privilege to lead. And while we have weathered the past two years' cavalcade of challenges, we have also done some of the most consequential work in Meyer's nearly 40-year history. Providing funds to urgent needs. Launching just-in-time initiatives while charting a strategic course for the years ahead. Completing our new and green headquarters. Exceeding all expectations on our endowment. All while managing our own lives and the needs of those around us in the midst of a global pandemic and unprecedented social and economic challenges? Nothing short of excellence! I truly cannot overstate how grateful I am to each and every one of you, and to all the Meyer staff I've had the honor of knowing.

Now, as I find myself taking stock of what is needed to move the work forward, I am also thinking about where else I need to show up, lead and care for. And what I know now with total certainty is that my family — my parents, my husband, and my young and growing boys — need me now in a way I can no longer put off.

Therefore, I have decided to step down as CEO of Meyer Memorial Trust by the end of February 2022.

Like any major life decision, it was both extremely difficult and surprisingly clear. I wrestled with it, tried to see another pathway forward, thought about what signals it might send as a woman, as a Black woman, as a CEO. For those of us in the "sandwich generation," finding ourselves juggling care of our parents and our children (and our careers), this is not an unfamiliar conversation. Fair or not, ultimately I understood what I could and couldn't sustain, and where I could and couldn't hand over responsibilities.

I am extremely grateful for having had the opportunity to lead Meyer Memorial Trust to where it is today: a foundation centered in community, rooted in Oregon and focused on racial justice. I am confident that each of you will carry that work forward in ways I cannot wait to cheer on.

I am equally grateful to Janet Hamada, our inimitable and unflinching board chair, for her friendship, leadership and wisdom. And my gratitude extends to the entire board of trustees, who are wholly supportive of my decision. Their commitment to Meyer's next 40 years is beyond reproach.

And lastly, I am grateful to my colleague and friend, Phoebe O'Leary, who has agreed to step in and step up to serve as Interim CEO after I leave. Phoebe, the board and the executive team are already putting in place a transition plan and a pathway to our new CEO in mid-2022. Until then, Phoebe and I will be even more joined at the hip as she prepares to take the helm.

I have plenty of time yet to share with you all my fondest memories and proudest moments. And I am 100 percent confident in the board and the executive team to lead us through this moment, and equally confident in every one of you that your best work is just ahead.

With love and deep gratitude,

Michelle

A portrait of Michelle J. DePass, CEO of Meyer Memorial Trust. DePass will step down from her position in February 2022.

Meyer recently completed a comprehensive strategic planning process, a deep dive into how we do grantmaking and how we can better center community in all we do. As Meyer Memorial Trust sharpens our focus on racial justice, and on applying an anti-racist, feminist lens to our work, we must strive to better align our purpose and our business operations.

To achieve that stronger alignment, Meyer CEO Michelle J. DePass has promoted Brenda Hodges to the role of Chief Financial Officer. As Meyer's director of finance for the last five years, Brenda has been a trusted advisor to the executive team and Meyer's board of trustees. She has steered the organization's finances through great periods of change, growth, and challenges. Brenda has also led Meyer's independent audit process, and modernized the organization's accounting practices with an emphasis on mission alignment. This new role is an opportunity for Brenda to oversee and elevate the strategic value and impacts of other compliance functions, such as IT and operations.

As we move through operationalization, Meyer's attention will in due course turn to impact: how can we make the most impact in Oregon? And how do we know when we are? That focus on impact merits someone entirely focused on it.

To achieve that goal, DePass has appointed Kaberi Banerjee Murthy to the newly created role of Chief Impact Officer. The Chief Impact Officer’s top priority is to bring a racial justice and intersectional feminist lens to the work which centers community voice and shifts power. Since 2018, Kaberi has led Meyer's programs and strategy teams, while also leading the board and staff through a planning process which just resulted in a new strategic framework. As Meyer's inaugural Chief Impact Officer, Kaberi will oversee all of Meyer’s mission-focused work, specifically the development of its long-term strategy, oversight of grantmaking, programs and advocacy, and the implementation of values-aligned evaluation.

Congratulations, Kaberi and Brenda. Meyer is grateful for your thoughtful leadership.

Kaberi Banerjee Murthy (L), Brenda Hodges (R)

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve hired Roy Kaufmann as Meyer’s new director of communications.

Roy, who most recently served as Interim Associate Vice President for Communications at Lewis & Clark College, brings to Meyer more than two decades of experience in communications.

An award-winning communications practitioner, Roy’s extensive experience includes managing media relations, issues management and crisis communications. At Lewis & Clark College, Roy served on both the college's emergency management steering committee, its sustainability council, and its diversity, equity and inclusion committee. As the new Director of Communications, he will lead strategic communications, from media relations and web content development, to social media, strategic storytelling, branding, community engagement and employee communications.

Roy brings a wealth of experience in maintaining alignment between an organization’s communications and its core mission and values. His expertise will be integral to Meyer’s work towards an equitable community where all Oregonians can reach their full potential.

Prior to his time at Lewis & Clark, Roy served as speechwriter to Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, and before that, as press secretary and communications director to Portland Mayor Sam Adams. He holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of San Diego and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of California, Davis. A lifelong fan and student of comedy and improvisation, he fondly recalls his studies at the Second City Theater training school in Los Angeles.

“I’m excited to support Michelle and the entire Meyer team of change agents in accomplishing our mission to work with and invest in organizations, communities, ideas and efforts that contribute to a flourishing and equitable Oregon,” Roy said.

He began work at Meyer in September.

Roy Kaufmann, Meyer's new Director of Communications

I am excited to share that Sohel Hussain will join Meyer Memorial Trust as the first-ever Director of Investment Operations. Sohel most recently oversaw the middle office team at PIMCO, a global investment management firm focusing on active fixed income management. He brings a decade of experience in operations, trade support, cash management and project management.

He has extensive experience managing the “middle office” — the work that moves forward the investment process and provides critical information to fiduciaries and stakeholders. As Director of Investment Operations, he will be responsible for strengthening partnerships and improving workflow in this area among Meyer’s operations, accounting, information technology and communications teams. 

As we continue to formalize and professionalize our investment operations, Sohel's proven leadership skills will help to guide Meyer in our dedicated support for communities across Oregon through strong alignment between our investments and values.

He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Hofstra University’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business and is completing a Masters of Liberal Arts in Finance at Harvard University.

 

—Rukaiyah

Sohel Hussain, Meyer's first Director of Investment Operations

For a kid from Chicago’s hardscrabble Southside, travelling to Oregon for summer vacation was magic. Even the air, so fresh and clear, was a wonder. One indelible memory I have was asking my mother why everything in Oregon looked so much crisper. Only years later did I realize that it was due to the air quality, untainted by the steel mill exhaust that was omnipresent back home.

But that was only a small part of the magic. I was privileged to be able to visit my family in Hood River every summer when I was a child in the 1970s and 80s. The mountains, the orchards, the lakes, the rivers, small town Little League games, dripping popsicles on the lawn, the sweet scent of Grandpa’s roses—all of these combined to show me another way of living.

These were treasured experiences, but I did not make the Mid-Columbia Gorge my full-time home until I had explored urban centers throughout the country as a social worker and nonprofit consultant. A confluence of factors brought me to Oregon. Four things happened at once: First, I married a Brooklyn boy who was also enamored of the Pacific Northwest. We wanted to raise children where we could send them to a safe public school. I also landed my dream job in Hood River. And this allowed me the opportunity to share in the last years of my beloved grandmother’s life.

The dream job was to provide structure, support and ensure continuation funding for community health workers at The Next Door, Inc., a grass-roots organization that has assisted Columbia Gorge residents since 1971. After three years as a program manager of Nuestra Comunidad Sana, the health promotion program at The Next Door, I was promoted to be the executive director. For the past 14 years, I’ve had the pleasure of leading a team of dedicated and passionate people who care deeply about making our community a better place.

As a grantee of Meyer Memorial Trust since 1991, I was not surprised to receive a call from Meyer’s then CEO, Doug Stamm back in the summer of 2016. What was surprising, however, was that I was being considered as a potential trustee. How often do foundations want grantees on their boards? I still ask that question as, after five years, I’ve become immersed in the world of philanthropy. The answer? “Not often.” Yet, this is a true mark of inclusion by an organization that consistently honors diversity and lifts the voices of communities most proximate to the issues it seeks to solve.

I am humbled to now serve as Meyer’s board chair, a dream for someone such as myself who has fought long, tireless battles to gain recognition for the utter strength and resilience of everyday Oregonians.

I pledge to continue this fight for my neighbors, especially those not celebrated in headlines; those lost to view who toil and suffer, but who deserve everything I have and more. In my new position, I plan to work alongside my team members at Meyer and our many grantees to live out our mission of a flourishing and equitable Oregon. I hope to make my idyllic childhood summers more of a reality for all Oregonians.

Janet Hamada as a child with her brother, Matt and grandparents, Maki and Horace Hamada

I’m pleased to announce the election of Janet Hamada as chair of Meyer’s Board of Trustees, effective today, April 1. She succeeds former chair, Toya Fick, who led the board from 2019-2021.

Janet, who became a Meyer trustee in 2017, is Executive Director of The Next Door, a social service agency based in Hood River, and serves as a member of the boards of directors of Four Rivers Early Learning Hub and the Mid-Columbia Medical Center.

A long-time resident of the Columbia Gorge and native of Chicago’s South Side neighborhood, she brings to Meyer a passion for social justice and a long history of work in the nonprofit sector.

I look forward to working more closely with Janet as we continue down the path of our strategy development work. Her passion for the work we do and her commitment to equity are inspiring. I am confident that the board and all Meyer staff will benefit from Janet’s dedication and leadership.

I’d also like to personally thank Toya for her service as chair and for her leadership of the board over the past two years, including through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her insight and thought partnership have been invaluable contributions to the work and culture of Meyer.

Please join me in thanking Toya and congratulating Janet.

-Michelle

Janet Hamada, chair of Meyer Memorial Trust's board of trustees

"In conscious recognition of an imperfect past, it is what we do in the present that creates the change we seek."

 

So begins “Our Place in Oregon History,” the recently released visual introduction to Meyer’s new headquarters in North Portland. Portland filmmaker Donielle Howard captures soaring and luminous footage of our building — its thoughtfully considered spaces, sustainable footprint and meaningful artwork, all of which represent the hope and inspiration that drives our work at Meyer.

But the new space is only part of the story. Our home in the heart of the lower Albina neighborhood of North Portland also compels us to share the history of the land that our headquarters now sits upon. Alongside Howard’s beautiful images is a timeline of an uglier truth: historical signposts of a complex, somber and, at times, deeply shameful side of Oregon’s founding and the legacy of white supremacy and colonialism in our shared history.

I hope you’ll find the nine minutes in your day it will take to experience this story — and that it leaves you thinking more about what it means to create a more perfect future, with conscious recognition of the past.

March is also Women’s History Month, which also gives me an opportunity to celebrate the many women who brought this building to life and to highlight the important role that women played in the project.

First, I am grateful to Anyeley Hallova, formerly of Project^ and now, Adre, Ali O’Neill of O’Neill Construction Group, Chandra Robinson, project director at LEVER architecture and our own Phoebe O’Leary. The fierce intellect, resourcefulness, passion and creativity from this all-women team was integral to achieving a highly ambitious vision: a physical expression of Meyer’s values in a beautiful, enduring form.

In addition to our incredible leadership team, 47 percent of the Meyer headquarters construction budget was devoted to women and minority-owned subcontractors, 30 percent of the journey people and apprentice hours were filled by historically marginalized and under-resourced populations, including communities of color, women contractors and workers, underserved rural communities and people with disabilities. Ten percent of the hours were filled by women. Additionally, 80 percent of the subcontractors on the site were either women and/or minority-owned businesses; with 20 percent being “stretch” opportunities to give smaller companies the opportunity to grow and expand their portfolio.

While the pandemic has delayed our ability to celebrate these accomplishments in person, I hope that, with the vaccination rollout gaining steam, we will soon be able to welcome you in person to the building.

What a year it’s been. Here’s hoping that the coming year sees more justice and more equity, more resilience and resistance to the systems that continue to harm our communities and our land, and an even deeper reckoning with our past so that we may all better understand our shared history in order to build together a more collective future.

— Michelle

A view through the windows of Meyer Memorial Trust's new headquarters