By: SE Uplift Staff
SE Uplift says farewell to Molly Mayo, Gaby Saldaña-Lopez, and Lashawn McCarthy.
It is with a mix of sadness and gratitude that the SE Uplift Board of Directors and staff announce Molly Mayo’s departure as Executive Director of SE Uplift Neighborhood Coalition. Since June 2017, Molly has played a critical role in the success and development of the organization and we will miss her leadership but wish her the best of luck in future endeavors. We want to thank Molly for her dedicated service to SE Uplift and all of the community organizations that the coalition has supported under her leadership.
A significant part of Molly’s work at SE Uplift has been deepening relationships with community organizations and neighborhood groups in SE Uplift’s coalition area. Under her guidance, SE Uplift has new tenants in our building and is able to provide meeting space to many different organizations. Molly also led the Board of Directors through the process of developing a new mission statement for SE Uplift that removes exclusive language. The board has also received social and racial justice trainings from Momentum Alliance and Molly facilitated the process of creating a new DEI leadership team. Molly has supported the SE Uplift staff to create a work culture that allows all the staff regardless of work style to be able to thrive in their duties. Under her leadership, the SE Uplift staff has grown exponentially in diversity, and staff members each bring their own unique set of lived and professional experiences that are moving the organization forward. Click here to read more about SE Uplift’s accomplishments during Molly’s tenure.
With gratitude and best wishes, SE Uplift also bids adieu to our Fiscal Sponsorship Manager, Gaby Saldaña-Lopez and our Summer Intern, Lashawn McCarthy. Gaby served as a Community Engagement Liaison and Fiscal Sponsorship Manager for the past year. Under her management, SE Uplift re-opened the Fiscal Sponsorship Program to community groups and has accepted four new projects including Portland United Against Hate and Sankofa NW. She also represented SE Uplift at community events and built new partnerships with community members. During the end of her tenure, she helped plan the Cultural Exchange Market which brought together vendors, community organizations, neighbors and stakeholders for a fun day of exploring different cultures, snacking, shopping and playing games. We wish Gaby the best of luck in her new position with OPAL (Organizing People, Activating Leaders). Lashawn McCarthy was interning at SE Uplift during the summer and has returned to school at Warner Pacific University. During his time with SE Uplift, Lashawn helped with the Land Use & Transportation Committee Meetings, assisted multiple staff with special projects and spearheaded a native land acknowledgment for SE Uplift. The staff is appreciative of all the work that Lashawn supported. We wish him good fortune with finishing his studies and hope to see him in public office in the near future.
We welcome Danny Mankin who will be serving as Interim Executive Director for the next several months while the organization conducts a search for the next Executive Director. The recruitment and hiring process will be managed by a professional consulting firm as has been done in the past with SE Uplift executive transitions. If you have any questions or concerns during this transition process please do not hesitate to contact staff.
Again, we cannot thank Molly, Gaby, and Lashawn enough for their dedication, passion and commitment to SE Uplift. They will be missed by the staff, Board Members and community partners. We look forward to their continued success in all future professional and personal ventures.