Faith, Family and Forward Thinking: Celebrating 15 Years with Marie Miller

Marie Miller

Fifteen years ago, Marie Miller started working for Urban Strategies as the assistant to our former CEO, Junious Williams.  A former Fellow with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Marie had recently finished her Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning at the State University of New York (Buffalo). 

As the wife of a young pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church hierarchy, she knew that she and her husband would be moving from congregation to congregation over the next few years.  So, Marie was glad to get the job to help support her husband and herself.

Marie got busy developing systems and procedures for the busy Urban Strategies office.  She quickly became the hub of activities when Urban Strategies was located at Preservation Park.  After a few years, Marie left the Bay Area when her husband became the Senior Pastor at a church in another state, but she continued to do contractual work for Urban Strategies.  It was a way for her to stay in touch and to put to work her master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning.  

Fast forward to today, Marie’s life is very different.  She is now the mother of three very active boys and she lives on the East Coast, but she continues to contribute to Urban Strategies by being the backbone of one of our most popular programs:  Mental Health Mondays. 

Marie serves as our Virtual Programs Manager, where she designs and delivers the powerful mental health and wellness programming of Mental Health Mondays.  Her work blends cultural relevance, compassion and a deep understanding of the spiritual and emotional needs of the African American community that we serve.

Mental Health Mondays is a program that focuses on everything from anxiety and depression to trauma healing and spiritual resilience.  Marie’s ability to create a virtual space that feels safe, empowering and even sacred has helped an international audience of African Americans to find peace and obtain tools for transformation.  

Marie’s life is grounded in her Christian faith, a foundation that shapes her approach to both her personal and professional life.  “Everything I do, I try to do with love, grace and purpose,” she says. “That’s what my faith teaches me, and that’s what I try to share through all of our programs.”

As we celebrate her 15-year milestone, we honor not only Marie’s loyalty and leadership, but her quiet strength, vision and the faith she brings to every facet of her work.

Thank you, Marie, for reminding us that meaningful impact knows no borders.  One of these days, we hope to lure Marie and her family back to the Bay Area.