Michelle Merriweather
Michelle Merriweather is a passionate social justice leader and the 13th President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. In her role, she leads efforts to improve housing, education, health, and workforce development for Black communities in Seattle through advocacy, programming, and coalition-building. Her unwavering dedication to serving others is rooted in her upbringing in Southern California, where her family instilled the values of community service and the importance of education. Michelle often cites her paternal grandmother, who came from the segregated South and was determined to ensure that all of her children and grandchildren graduated from college, as one of her greatest inspirations.
Michelle began her social justice journey as a volunteer with the Los Angeles Urban League, where she eventually became the first woman President of the LA Urban League Young Professionals and a Board Member. A graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana with a degree in business administration, Michelle has also had a successful career in sales and marketing with companies like Starbucks, Heinz, and Coca-Cola before transitioning to her current role in advocating for African Americans and underserved communities.
In addition to her leadership at the Urban League, Michelle is deeply involved in her community. She serves on the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance Steering Committee and sits on the boards of the Alliance for Education, Washington State Women's Commission, and Progress Pushers, an organization working to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Michelle is also a co-founder of the Black Future Co-Op Fund, which focuses on building generational wealth and well-being for Black Washingtonians through community-led philanthropy.
Her dedication to social justice and community empowerment has earned her numerous accolades, including the Puget Sound Business Journal's Woman of Influence and Puget Sound Power 100 awards in 2020, and the Edwin T. Pratt Community Service Award in 2022. Michelle's mantra is inspired by civil rights leader Whitney Young: "I'm not anxious to be the loudest voice or the most popular, but I would like to think that at a crucial moment, I was an effective voice for the voiceless, and effective hope for the hopeless." Through her work, Michelle Merriweather is making an indelible impact on the communities she serves.