i had the privilege of working with Kay since 2006 when she joined the funding world at the Harder Foundation. we were both new to philanthropy. granted she was an Executive Director and i was a lowly program associate, she interlaced her arm with mine and encouraged us to walk along the steep learning curve together. through the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity (later Biodiversity Funders Group), and through the Environmental Grantmakers Association, so many of us always looked forward to those reunions of a big beautiful community, and Kay was an integral part of them, and, will continue to be. in these settings, she would ask tough questions of anyone – political leaders, advocates, campaigners, frontline leaders, and scientists – and save the hardest questions for us as funders, always pushing us to think bigger yet be focused, be more strategic yet seize opportunities, be patient yet impatient, work for nature conservation yet never ignore racial equity, and gather many perspectives yet listen to and be accountable to those communities whose lives were being impacted day in and out (she embodied how there is wisdom in the listening). oh, and always always always have humor, sarcasm and wit.
i would turn to Kay for advice to understand the landscape of Washington State and the Pacific NW. our respective foundations co-invested in the advocacy, community organizing and policy-level work needed to get Washington’s first marine spatial plan out the gate. and her kayak-tivist support – among so many other creative tactics she helped enable – in Washington was a strategic lever for my work and inspired activism in countless ways in fighting dumb infrastructure projects and their related shipping impacts north of the border in British Columbia.
when i was in my own struggle with cancer, Kay was consistently there for a firm hug, a check-in, and a flash of encouragement. and also a big ol’ “fuck cancer.” i admired how she did not mince words. during her own journey with the disease, she taught me so many lessons, namely how to live. savor a garden and a grandson. go to hawaii. reflect on the struggle. and continue to fight in whatever way we need to do to make the world better. i was grateful to feel even closer to her in these recent years.
i’ll always light a candle for Kay because she has lit a candle for so many.
