Yesterday, Meyer Memorial Trust announced the appointment of Amy C. Tykeson to its board of trustees. Tykeson joins Meyer board chair Toya Fick and members Charles Wilhoite, Janet Hamada, Mitch Hornecker and Alice Cuprill-Comas, rounding out the number of board members to six.
"We are pleased to welcome Amy C. Tykeson as a trustee at a pivotal moment in Oregon history and in Meyer’s work to serve all Oregonians,” said board chair Toya Fick said in a press release. “Her broad experience and understanding of rural communities adds an important dimension to the stewardship of Meyer Memorial Trust.”
A third-generation Oregonian and leader in the telecommunications industry for 34 years, Tykeson brings extensive experience in business, communications and a legacy of mission-driven service to Meyer’s board of trustees. Tykeson began her communications career with Home Box Office (HBO) in Chicago and New York before taking over as president and CEO of BendBroadband, a family-owned cable and broadband company based in Central Oregon.
We are a far distance from ensuring opportunities for every Oregonian. I want to help all Oregonians thrive and work to improve the outlook for future generations. — Amy C. Tykeson
“I am thrilled to have Amy’s three decades of experience as a business leader, storyteller and long history of service to the state of Oregon on our board of trustees, said Meyer president & CEO Michelle J. DePass. “Her warmth and devotion to the human spirit is just what this institution needs as we manage new realities amid COVID-19 and the nationwide calls for racial justice and social equity. “
Currently, Tykeson serves as the managing trustee for the Tykeson Family Foundation, overseeing operations and contributions directed toward education for underserved young people, healthcare and health sciences and access to the arts.
Today, Meyer’s Building Community portfolio is pleased to open our 2020 Annual Funding Opportunity (AFO) for applications. Our approach is both new and familiar, carrying forward important elements of our work from previous years and refining them based on our learning over the past year.
Last spring, our portfolio announced that it would have a year-long invitation-only funding call rather than an open funding opportunity while we explored ways to make this portfolio more effective. Over its first three annual funding cycles, Building Community received about 1,000 applications, well over half of what Meyer received across all four portfolios, funding just over a fifth of them. We asked key direct-service nonprofits focused on systemic-level change to complete requests for proposals while we considered how to make this competitive process more clear and more clearly focused on equity. These activities as well as others gave us an opportunity to both support key organizations while also learning how to advance community based on connection and belonging.
Leading with race
We’re back for the 2020 AFO with the clarity we were searching for: the best way to achieve the broad goal of creating and sustaining justice for everyone is to focus work and resources where injustice is most concentrated. This is why the Building Community portfolio’s priority populations are people of color, Indigenous communities and Tribes and immigrants and refugees. We will only consider funding requests from organizations that have implemented strategies designed specifically to benefit at least one of these populations.
We recognize that injustice is complicated and that other aspects of a person’s identity have impact as well. We are interested in supporting work that recognizes such complexity and is designed to support members of our priority populations who experience intersecting oppressions related to gender, race, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or economic status.
Overarching criteria remain
For several years, the Building Community portfolio has shared key factors that guide our review of funding requests. Those overarching criteria remain firmly in place. We continue to look for track records of:
Operationalized DEI — understanding of structural oppressions and at least initial investments toward embedding equity in the organization’s operations
Connection to systems-level change — working to address root causes or underlying issues that create the need for a service or program
Community engagement — meaningful guidance or leadership of clients and communities shaping an organization’s work, with accountability to the people engaged
These criteria, along with strategies to support priority populations, are all deeply interwoven. An organization cannot effectively work to shift systems toward justice without centering impacted communities, particularly the priority populations noted above. Likewise, an organization that aims to effectively work with and for priority populations without causing unintended harm needs to have solid grounding in principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. When that grounding comes first, community engagement follows.
Continuing focus on systems change
While a connection to systems change is listed alongside our other criteria, it may rightfully be considered the foundation of all that Building Community does. The concept of systems change has always been present in this portfolio’s work and has become ever more important over the past four years of grantmaking. But systems change is a big idea, one we have found challenging to pin down and describe well.
This was a key part of our work in 2019 — to get clearer about what systems change is and how it’s done. With the help of grantee partners who do the work, we have come to understand that “systems change is about advancing equity by shifting the conditions that hold a problem in place.” Our funding goals for 2020 are designed to address conditions at different levels.
Our first goal, Civic Engagement, Policy and Leadership is designed to address explicit and semi-explicit conditions of systems change, while our second goal, Connection and Belonging, is focused at the implicit level.
We know that changing deeply rooted systems is long-game, non-linear, complicated work. It’s not a one year grant project, though small efforts can be part of a great whole. We’re continuing to learn from grantees and others about how to gauge the effectiveness of systems change strategies, how to collaboratively set long term goals while remaining responsive to changing conditions and how to think differently about what success looks like.
Ongoing learning with service providers
Another area of continued exploration is how direct service providers can be an essential part of systems change efforts.
In July, we opened a request for proposals from service providers who were early in this work but eager to go deeper. We selected twelve organizations to participate in a Learning Circle before submitting plans for projects to advance their capacity for systems change work. Funding for those plans has just been awarded, and we will continue to learn alongside these organizations through 2020 as we consider how Building Community can better support this type of work going forward.
Thanks for your interest in what the Building Community portfolio does — and is trying to do. We look forward to hearing from you, applicants, current grantees and the merely curious.
Just like you and many others, we’ve been monitoring the rapid spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and we share the concern and uncertainty you may be experiencing related to the virus. We are also reminded of the need to care for our staff, trustees, grantees and partners as well as family and loved ones and all those impacted by the novel coronavirus.
To that end, we wanted to let you know:
Meyer recognizes the developing situation may affect your organization's ability to go on business trips and hold convenings that have been planned as part of our funding. We want to offer you flexibility during this time. If grant deliverables may change due to the coronavirus or you think we can be a useful partner as your organization navigates and responds to the pandemic, please contact your program officer to discuss how to best proceed.
Following the lead of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Meyer staff will work from home for the remainder of March. Although the physical office is closed, we will hold convenings virtually, postpone or cancel them as needed.
Our 2020 Annual Funding Opportunity will open as planned on Monday, March 16.
We have plans in place to ensure our ability to pay grantees with minimal disruption. Should your organization have any pressing questions or concerns regarding a grant, please don’t hesitate to email your program officer. In our collective efforts to fight this virus, we are attempting to model the cooperation needed to address challenges like these and the need for systemic-level change across all the areas in which we work.
Thank you for all that you do. We are committed to being with you for the long haul.
This year marks the opening of our fifth year of grantmaking through the Healthy Environment portfolio. As this Annual Funding Opportunity kicks off, the portfolio remains committed to investing in organizations and partnerships that have a vision for change and an approach based on values of justice, ecological sustainability, cooperation and healing.
2020 is a pivotal year for the environment. The lack of action on climate change, a growing number of environmental policy rollbacks at the federal level, intractable structural challenges in our state budget and the intersection of white nationalism with opposition to environmental protections are among the weighty issues our grantee partners wrestle with daily. At Meyer, we invest in organizations and collaboratives that demonstrate an understanding of this political, social and economic context -- and how power operates within this context to create and maintain social inequality and environmental problems -- in rural and urban communities across Oregon. Understanding context and seeking structural changes that get to the root of these challenges are crucial capabilities.
There are many examples of inspiring work aimed at tackling these challenges: efforts to reimagine and redesign systems and structures for 21st century realities, projects to scale up successful models for enhancing community and ecosystem resilience, and initiatives that expand the political influence of those most impacted by environmental problems.
We hope you will draw insights about the kinds of solutions we aim to support through our grantmaking from this interview with Alan Hipólito. We see the work of the Portland Clean Energy Fund Coalition as an example of the kind of approach and creative, structural solution we need to advance Meyer’s mission of a flourishing, equitable Oregon. In particular, we want to point out the important coalition structure that they created, one that centers the lived experience of communities that are on the front lines of climate change. From PCEF’s inception, frontline community organizations have led its effort, guiding organizations that have traditionally held more power in Oregon’s environmental movement to step back in support roles. This is equity in action.
The Healthy Environment team is eager to work with you on your upcoming grant applications, so please get in touch with us to discuss your ideas. We also are committed to exploring new ways to partner, across philanthropy and other sectors, to imagine what’s possible, build the capacity of Oregon’s environmental movement, back resilient communities, share stories about solutions and manifest a more equitable vision for the future.
News broadcasts and headlines these days include any number of stories about the 2020 presidential election. But the results of another nationwide civic engagement next year will last beyond the tenure of the next U.S. president, no matter who is elected.
The census.
The U.S. Constitution requires that every ten years the federal government conduct a complete count of all people living in the United States, including immigrants (documented and undocumented), Tribal members and refugees. This is a fundamental, nonpartisan element of our democracy. On census data hinge apportionment of congressional and electoral representation and allocation of more than $800 billion of federal funding each year.
Only a full census count can ensure Oregon receives its fair share of federal funds for schools, housing, highways and more. The 2020 U.S. census will impact all Oregonians for at least a decade. That is why Meyer’s largest grant award this year supports work toward a full, accurate and equitable count. And we are not alone. Oregon philanthropy is marshaling its resources and partnering with public agencies to ensure a full count that will secure resources, information and the representation that Oregonians deserve.
Why the census matters
The results of each decennial census count have a number of direct and tangible impacts.
Representation — Census data determine the number of legislators each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives (apportionment) and are used to set the geographic area that each Representative covers (districting).
Federal funding — Many key safety net programs are funded according to population information, including Head Start, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, school lunches, Section 8 housing, Pell Grants, short-term rental assistance, medical assistance programs and more. Federal funding allocations vitally impact rural communities, which tend to rely more on federal support.
Resource placement and priority — Census data influence countless decisions, both public and private, about infrastructure needs, investment opportunities, business locations and types of goods and services to be offered.
Beyond resources, the census also helps express who we are in the United States. Data tell stories, and if the census is incomplete or inaccurate, many of our stories about ourselves will (continue to) be as well. For example, until 2000, all census respondents were forced to select a single race; mixed race people were not allowed to identify as such. Likewise, the 2020 census will be the first to count same-sex couples. These identities are invisible — and the people who hold them not fully seen — in federal data from all prior decades, data that is still referred to today and will be indefinitely. Communities that are un- or undercounted also lose visibility, and being left out of the story has very real impacts, social, political, and economic.
What’s at stake in Oregon
According to Census Bureau estimates, Oregon is among a handful of states whose population has grown significantly since the 2010 census and could therefore gain a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census.A decade ago, Oregon missed adding a sixth seat by a little more than 40,000 people.
Since 2010, Oregon’s population has grown by more than 8%, and we know that demographics have shifted in that time as well. In 2016, Oregon received more than $13 billion through the top 55 federal funding programs, amounting to roughly $3,100 per person. If the count in 2020 fully reflects Oregon’s estimated growth, federal funding allocations to the state will also grow. Oregon will have better data to help lawmakers, businesses and the nonprofit sector make informed decisions on any number of efforts.
What’s different about 2020
Oregon needs a full count. Although no census is perfect, we know that to even achieve status quo accuracy in 2020 will require substantially more than a status quo approach because a number of unique factors this time around could hinder a full count, particularly among Oregon’s hardest-to-count populations:
This will be the first digital census, raising concerns about personal data security and internet scams. It’ll also reinforce a digital divide in Oregon, where almost 20% of households do not have access to broadband internet.2
Substantial delays and reductions in federal funding have resulted in a lack of critical infrastructure needed to support the count.3
Debate over whether to include a citizenship question — which the Supreme Court ultimately blocked in July 2019 — has politicized the census and instilled fear in communities of color and immigrant communities. That fear could still threaten Oregon’s count: Almost a half-million Oregonians live with a noncitizen, and 78% of those living with a noncitizen are people of color.4
Efforts to spread disinformation — which are expected to intensify — that could suppress census participation, particularly among nonwhite populations.5
Increasingly polarized public discourse during the run-up to the presidential election.
How Oregon philanthropy is stepping up and centering equity
Given all that is at stake, Meyer and several peer funders began talking in 2017 about the upcoming census in Oregon. Conversations quickly revealed that our diverse group, all with different funding programs and priorities, had common purpose around ensuring a full and accurate census because it impacts every population we focus on in our individual institutions.
We took time to establish shared agreements, among them, an equity lens to help guide our collective work.
“We recognize that structural racism, other oppressions, and geographic isolation have historically suppressed census counts of certain communities and that this continues to have compounding negative impacts on resources and outcomes for those communities. Therefore, we believe that investing first and most in efforts that arise from and focus on communities of color and populations that experience barriers to census and civic participation is the best way to ensure that our work ultimately benefits all Oregonians.”
From there, we — City of Portland Office of Community & Civic Life, Collins Foundation, Ford Family Foundation, Gray Family Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, North Star Civic Foundation, Northwest Health Foundation, PacificSource Foundation for Health Improvement, Pride Foundation, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and Meyer — formalized our partnership as the Census Equity Funders Committee of Oregon (CEFCO) and engaged in an extensive field scan regarding census work, learning about community and philanthropic efforts inotherstates, connecting with community groups in Oregon, meeting with U.S. Census Bureau staff, and building partnerships with public agencies, including the Office of Gov. Kate Brown and the City of Portland’s Office of Community and Civic Life.
Our research was clear: The philanthropic community can best support a full and accurate census count by supplementing federal efforts with strategies and resources specifically focused on reaching “Hard to Count” (HTC) populations across Oregon. So CEFCO moved forward with two significant and interrelated pieces of work: investment in the development of a statewide get-out-the count plan to reach HTC communities and creation of a pooled funding mechanism to support work identified in the plan.
“Hard to Count” populations, as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau, are just what they sound like: Groups at risk of not being fully counted. These are both geographic and demographic populations, including people of color, Tribal communities, children under age 5, people experiencing homelessness, geographically isolated households, recent immigrants, people with limited English proficiency, communities with low response rates in the last census, and more.
#WeCountOregon campaign plan
In December 2018, CEFCO released an RFP seeking a contractor to create and implement a statewide plan to ensure that Oregon’s hard to count populations are included in the 2020 census. Dancing Hearts Consulting emerged through a community-informed selection process as the right partner for this work given their organizing and grassroots experience, proposed field approach, and relationships with key community organizations. In fact, the proposed approach and resulting #WeCountOregon campaign plan were collectively developed with — and implementation will be conducted with — the leadership of 12 Partnership Organizations.
This comprehensive get-out-the-count plan includes coordinated strategies for field outreach, communications, Native/Tribal education and engagement, and other culturally specific training and education. The work will touch all 36 counties in Oregon. It is data informed and centers trusted messengers for door-to-door, community-based, and in-agency outreach and communications, which will be available in multiple languages.
Implementation of the #WeCountOregon plan will unfold on this general timeline.
PREPARE
Develop field operation plans to help increase census participation.
July - December 2019
EDUCATE
Increase community awareness and tackle misinformation about the 2020 census
January - April 1, 2020
ACTIVATE
Engage every Oregonian in the 2020 census (with focus on HTC populations)
April 1* - August 2020
IMPACT
Secure resources and representation for our communities
September 2020 and on
*April 1 is Census Day, the date by which all households should receive an invitation to participate in the census.
A number of community-based organizations across the state will serve as Census Assistance Centers (selected through a recent RFP) during the most active period of the count, April through July. These are physical locations frequented by members of hard to count populations where resources and assistance related to the census will be available, including on evenings and weekends in most locations. The centers will have computers that community members can use to submit their census forms online, with linguistically appropriate support as needed.
The #WeCountOregon campaign’s focus on reaching hard to count populations is meant to complement broader “complete count” efforts made by the State of Oregon and the federal government. CEFCO collaborates closely with the State, and has members serving on the Oregon Complete Count Committee to ensure that our efforts are coordinated and effective. That committee is co-chaired by Chi Nguyen, Executive Director of APANO, which is one of the #WeCountOregon Partnership Organizations.
Census Equity Fund of Oregon
Fully implementing the #WeCountOregon campaign plan will require an investment of $10 million, which is significant but is only a tiny fraction of the resources that will flow to Oregon based on results of the census count. Because we know that work will move quickly and that funds need to be deployed with maximum efficiency, CEFCO opted to establish a pooled fund: the Census Equity Fund of Oregon. To date, 14 foundations and several public entities have collectively contributed more than $9 million to the fund.
The State of Oregon is the largest contributor at $7.5 million. This is a first-of-its-kind investment from the state, and, along with $600,000 from the City of Portland, makes this the only fund in the country where public and private dollars are commingled and allocated toward a coordinated statewide effort to reach Hard to Count populations. Roughly $1 million has been contributed from philanthropic sources. We are proud to be part of this innovative cross-sector collaboration, and we need more partners to join as well. Fundraising efforts are still underway to make sure that we fully resource the field work needed to achieve a full, equitable count for Oregon.
How everyone can engage to support a full count
Now is the time to get involved, to uphold our democracy and support our communities by ensuring a fair and accurate census in 2020.
Learn — Watch #WeCountOregon’s Census 101 webinar in either English or Spanish and visit sites such as Count Us In and Census 20/20 to find resources and learn more.
Connect — Register your pledge to be counted, and sign up for updates from the #WeCountOregon campaign to keep attuned to census work around the state. Funders, potential funders and partners can also stay engaged by attending monthly Census Equity Fund meetings, which are accessible remotely.
Invest — Contribute to the Census Equity Fund of Oregon. Join this innovative collaboration and help close the gap toward our fundraising goal of $10 million for census engagement in hard to count communities statewide.
Network — Spread the word! Engage your colleagues, peers, and friends in census activity and outreach. Encourage them to pledge to count. Share resources. Help CEFCO connect with potential funders and partners.
To invest or connect with the Census Equity Fund of Oregon, please contact Lauren Gottfredson, Community Collaborations Senior Manager at United Way of the Columbia-Willamette (which is serving as backbone agency for this collective effort). Lauren can be reached at 503-226-9303 or laureng [at] unitedway-pdx.org (laureng[at]unitedway-pdx[dot]org).
Many challenges remain to achieving an accurate census in 2020; this count will require stronger statewide efforts than ever before. Meyer is proud to join with philanthropy peers from across the state in the Census Equity Funders Committee of Oregon (CEFCO) to ensure that each Oregonian is counted.
When I spoke at the plenary session of the 2019 Philanthropy Northwest Annual Conference a few weeks ago, I remarked that although Meyer Memorial Trust’s course toward equity was set about six years ago, this was the year we really started sailing into the deep waters. That’s the story of 2019 at Meyer. We’ve been digging deep into the work of dismantling barriers to equity in education, housing and the environment and improving community conditions with our sights set on the horizon: a flourishing and equitable Oregon.
The final year of the decade was my first full calendar year as Meyer president and CEO, and it has been a formative time for the organization. I’m proud of what we have accomplished through the hard work and dedication of our staff and trustees and alongside our partners across the state.
Meyer’s Housing Opportunities team hosted an Equity Housing Summit that was two years in the making and brought together hundreds of housing-focused grantees and homeless service provider partners to share strengths, insights and lessons to advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the field. The Building Community portfolio shifted to a two-part funding strategy focused on supporting systems change to create a just, complex, multicultural society where everyone can thrive. The Equitable Education team hosted their second annual Teachers of Color Gathering, bringing together more than 30 educators of color from around the state. The Healthy Environment team added its first program officer, Mary Rose Navarro.
After 10 years and more than $18.5 million invested in the health of the Willamette River, Meyer’s Willamette River Initiative transitioned into the independent Willamette River Network to continue and expand the Willamette Basin restoration movement. We said a fond farewell to our longest-serving trustee, Debbie Craig, who retired in April. Our trustee, Toya Fick, became our new board chair. And a few months later, we were delighted to welcome our newest trustee, Alice Cuprill-Comas, who brings strong expertise and a well-versed background in business, nonprofit governance and corporate law.
We hit the road, determined to get to know the state of Oregon through the eyes of its original inhabitants. Between October 2018 and October 2019, Meyer staff and trustees visited all nine federally recognized Tribes in the state, seeking to forge new, strong relationships with these sovereign nations.
We hosted the fourth lecture in Meyer’s Equity Speaker Series with a riveting, powerful talk by the Rev. Dr. William Barber II. In collaboration with Literary Arts, the Equity Speaker Series will continue next March with award-winning author Tommy Orange, as the culminating event of Multnomah County Library’s 2020 Everybody Reads program.
We have also been looking to the future. Next year, Meyer will undergo an exciting transition when we move from rented office space in Portland’s Pearl District to our new and permanent campus, currently under construction in North Portland’s Eliot neighborhood. Preparing for the move across the Willamette River has inspired us to think deeply about what it means to be a neighbor. We are looking forward to deepening our connection to North Portland and the community of historic Albina. We are also committed to making the campus a physical embodiment of Meyer’s mission and values, which means using the new building as a resource that will provide us the ability to offer new types of support and further investment in communities across the state.
2020 promises to be a big year for Meyer and for Oregon. Each and every day we will be looking to do more, in addition to grantmaking, to invest in change at the systemic level to ease inequities and disparities. Stay tuned for more news in the coming months as we work with our peers in the Census Equity Funders Committee of Oregon to support efforts to ensure an accurate count in the 2020 census. Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on all things Meyer in the new year.
Until January, all of us at Meyer wish you a warm, joyous holiday season.
In July, Chandra Robinson was appointed to the Portland Design Commission to provide leadership and expertise on urban design projects and maintaining and enhancing Portland's historical and architectural heritage.
“Having a strong design commission is a big part of keeping Portland looking like Portland,” said Robinson, who began her tenure on the commission in July. “Serving on the commission is important to me because, as a local, I want to be part of Portland’s history and part of its future.
“As a new design commissioner, I am still finding my voice and style but I have found that so far I have been most excited talking about context and design coherency. My goal as a member of this commission is to advocate for quality design."
Chandra is a project director at LEVER Architecture and specializes in designing mass timber and institutional projects. She is the project director for Meyer’s future campus in North Portland. You can read more about Chandra here.
Mary Rose Navarro recently joined Meyer’s Healthy Environment portfolio as the portfolio’s first program officer. In September, Communications & Engagement Specialist Darion Jones interviewed Mary Rose about her background, experience and what keeps her grounded in environmental equity work.
Darion Jones: So, Mary Rose, tell me a little bit about yourself.
Mary Rose Navarro: I moved to Oregon in 1990 from Indiana, but my family moved quite a bit when I was young, so I like to say that I am from five suburban towns in four Midwestern states.
My father was an ambitious businessman. I’ve been thinking about him since he passed away three years ago. I mainly thought of him as this entrepreneur, but when I really look at how he lived his life, I believe he worked so hard so he could make things better for his family, his friends and his community. While he wanted to be valued as a businessman, he really lived his life being of service, always warm, hospitable and welcoming.
He was someone who leaned in wherever there was an opportunity. For example, he was the president of our neighborhood association, and I remember building a float for the Fourth of July parade in our garage with neighbors. He stepped up at church where he was involved in the Knights of Columbus. In more recent years, he got really involved in Project Healing Waters, which is an organization that helps veterans heal from the trauma they’ve experienced through flyfishing and fly tying. He was proud of his involvement in that organization.
Over these last three years, I have come to realize that my own ambition and hard work is also rooted in the desire to be of service to others and lead a meaningful life.
Darion Jones: Yeah, that sounds like a phenomenal kind of community-building and dedication. I now understand a little bit more about what drives you.
Earlier you said you were from four Midwestern states. How did you make the shift from where you are to Oregon?
Mary Rose Navarro: It was a little by accident.
I was attending Purdue University in Indiana working toward earning an engineering degree. I shifted course when I realized I wanted a career with a more creative outlet. Landscape architecture was an attractive option.
Darion Jones: Wow, that is quite a different place to end up.
Mary Rose Navarro: When I made the switch, it wasn’t because I was concerned about the environment. I just wanted to design cool gardens, but then I took a required forestry class. That’s where I read Aldo Leopold and learned about the interconnection of ecosystem services and reflected on people’s connection to nature.
When I graduated, I received an offer in Dayton, Ohio, for a firm that did typical land development kind of projects … and an offer in Portland, Ore.
I had sent my resume to a firm here in Portland that was supporting community groups that were organizing around a system of parks and green spaces. Honestly, I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded closer to my interest in ecosystem health.
It was eye-opening. I had never even thought about the services government provides our communities until I found myself in this room of conservation advocates and “friends of” groups. They were advocating for a long-term plan that would direct more intentional funding into environmental protection. It wasn’t just the idea of a planning document that attracted my attention. It was how many small community groups were actively taking care of a small natural area in their neighborhoods. I was amazed with their interest in connecting with and learning from each other.
Coming from the flat farmlands of the Midwest to the rich natural beauty of Oregon; learning about government services and planning practices alongside passionate community members; experiencing the power of collaboration — all at the same time — really pushed me toward the path that I’ve taken.
Darion Jones: What drew you to nonprofit work?
Mary Rose Navarro: When I completed my masters program at Portland State University, I thought of myself as an environmentalist and somebody who was mainly concerned about trees and habitats and birds (which I do deeply care about). Then I landed a role at Friends of Trees. There I learned that I wasn’t really in this work for the trees ... I was in it for the community-building.
So often, when people come together early on a Saturday morning, it can be cold and rainy. They’re all bundled up and elbowing their way to the coffee pot. By the end of the morning the energy has shifted. There’s a buzz of accomplishment while people eat lunch with new friends and reflect on what they were able to achieve together.
There is also the less visible part of the work. Each neighborhood had a volunteer coordinator who invested many hours of work getting people to sign up for trees, collecting orders and organizing volunteers. My role was simply supporting them.
Their experiences were so inspiring and revealed the more hidden relationship building that was happening.
As I’ve been learning more about the systems that have created the disparities in our world, I’ve wondered “Where do I want to affect change?” What I've come to understand is that it’s one interaction at a time.
Darion Jones: How so?
Mary Rose Navarro: There was one coordinator, who knocked on the door of a particular house over and over and over again. This house was on a big corner lot with room to plant many trees, and we really wanted to plant trees. However, the woman that lived there was very reluctant to open the door. When she finally came to the door, the coordinator learned that she was afraid of the teenagers who hung out on the corner, “They’re hoodlums,” she would say. Ultimately, she did agree to plant trees and guess who planted them? The kids that she had been afraid of. This is the way new friendships are seeded and trust is built, one interaction at a time.
Darion Jones: Wow, it is truly amazing to hear that story come full circle.
Mary Rose Navarro: As we more authentically connect with one another, we will become more courageous to face the internal conditioning that gets in our way. This allows us to then work more courageously together toward equitable and just social change.
In my work at Meyer, I hope to always bring that level of caring. I know that there is a dynamic of wanting to put a funder on some pedestal. But Meyer can’t accomplish our mission without the vision, the passion and the dedication of the people working in community-based organizations and the people they are empowering. That’s where the root of social change is.
Darion Jones: Fighting the good fight, what do you do to relax? Where do you find catharsis and how do you recharge?
Mary Rose Navarro: My practice of taking care of myself and recharging is also a practice toward self-awareness.
By nature, I’m an extrovert, but I find that I need space to be silent and reflective.
I have been practicing mindfulness for over 15 years now. One practice that is really important to me is what we call a “Day of Mindfulness.” My spiritual community practices days of mindfulness once a month at an abbey in Lafayette. I try to attend six to eight times a year. It’s a beautiful setting where I can feel very connected to the earth and connected to the trees. By collectively taking care of ourselves, we can then support each other as each of us brings more intention and awareness to the work we do for the world.
Darion Jones: It sounds like a wonderful and calming place to get centered. Thank you for chatting with me today, Mary Rose. I’m glad you’re here at Meyer.
In August, Meyer’s Housing Opportunities portfolio invited grantees that are keenly focused on housing or providing services to people experiencing homelessness to a daylong summit aimed at increasing equitable practices, policies and outcomes within the housing sector.
For nearly half a decade, Meyer has supported the efforts of many housing organizations in the development of their equity lens and work. The Equity Housing Summit was the culmination of those efforts. At Portland State University, Meyer’s Equity Housing Summit — Strategies to Advance the Fields, brought together more than 200 people to learn, connect and share insights and ideas as well as mark an important day for Meyer and the housing sector in Oregon.
During the event, plenary sessions grounded attendees with an equity framework for the day. An inspiring keynote from Meyer President and CEO Michelle J. DePass provided an honest reflection on our foundation’s equity journey and commitment to the work. Our special guest Glenn Harris, president and CEO of Race Forward, facilitated two enlightening plenary sessions focused on the “Racial Equity Imperative” and “Creating Racial Equity” and a breakout session about “Creating a Culture for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”
During the breakouts, more than 40 different housing-focused organizations, from across Oregon, shared insights about the strengths and challenges they face in building equity into their work. With an emphasis on peer learning, the sessions offered a wide variety of presentations, such as Transforming Organizational Culture, Community Voice: Centering Lived Experience, and the History of Housing Discrimination in Oregon.
The summit was inspiring. People walked away with deepened commitments to equity and expanded connections with others in the sector who can strengthen and support their work.
Because equity work is always evolving, we hope that attendees continue to learn, connect and build stronger relationships with each other far beyond the summit. We also invite our partners and community members outside the Housing Opportunities portfolio to have access and learn from the information that was presented at the summit. To that end, we have created a new page on Meyer’s website dedicated to the Equity Housing Summit and sharing those resources. You can explore the new page here.
We hope our efforts keep the conversation going and keep us all learning. As Michelle J. DePass stated at the summit, “We have learned, and we keep learning, that is the only way we can inch forward.”
