Christopher Gil
Senior Content Marketing Manager
Mission Economic Development Agency
(415) 282-3334 ext. 152
cgil@medasf.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 3, 2016
MEDA’s Jillian Spindle Promoted to COO, Tse Ming Tam New Director of Development
Means for nonprofit to continue to invest in people’s lives and rebuild Mission community
San Francisco, Calif. — The Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) is pleased to announce notable personnel changes, with Director of Development Jillian Spindle promoted to Chief Operating Officer and Tse Ming Tam moving into Spindle’s former role.
Spindle has been at MEDA over seven years, seeing the agency through unprecedented growth. The nonprofit had a budget of $3 million in 2010, and that has climbed fourfold to $12 million, with full-time staff going from 11 to 60 in the same time.
In keeping pace with the rapid economic, social and demographic changes in our community, MEDA implemented systems that can best support innovative strategies and approaches in addressing new challenges. Some of these innovative strategies are “collective impact,” a two-generation approach, financial-service integration and comprehensive community development. MEDA needed to create a new COO position, with Spindle now providing guidance and acting as systems developer for all of these strategies, plus asset-building programs and daily operations. Prior to her time at MEDA, Spindle served as Director of Development and Marketing at Neighborhood Technology Resource Center, a Chicago-based organization that built and developed public computer centers in habitually underresourced communities.
Filling Spindle’s former role is Tse Ming Tam, who brings over three decades of program development, public policy/advocacy and resource development experience to MEDA. During his tenure at Chinese For Affirmative Action, Tam was involved with a citywide coalition that: promoted the adoption of local-hiring policies; was part of a national coalition to address Immigration Reform of 1986; and negotiated community benefits agreement with the Moscone development. At Insight CCED — formerly known as the National Economic Development — Tam spearheaded Sector Workforce Development, and built a national trades association called the National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP).
In his last capacity, which was at United Way of the Bay Area, Tam led the development and creation of SparkPoint centers — financial service-integration centers to build family economic stability for underserved communities (MEDA’s Plaza Adelante serves as a SparkPoint center for San Francisco’s Mission District.)
Tam has been honored as an Aspen Fellow and as a recipient of the James Irvine “Leadership Award.” He will now lead MEDA’s Development team and will cultivate new partners to rebuild the Mission community so immigrant, low- and moderate-income residents can thrive.
Explains Executive Director Luis Granados of the reasoning behind these major staff changes: “MEDA has grown dramatically, and that means we need the best possible management team. Jillian and Tse Ming have the backgrounds to provide such dynamic leadership. San Francisco’s Mission District used to be a supportive place for low-income and immigrant Latinos, but it’s now one of the most unaffordable neighborhoods in the country. There have been 8,000 Latinos forced from their homes — over 25 percent of this community — and a culture is being lost. MEDA is using our 40+ years of experience to rebuild this community and help Latinos and working families thrive. Jillian and Tse Ming will be an integral part of MEDA’s work going forward.”
###
About Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)
Rooted in the Mission and focused on San Francisco, MEDA’s mission is to strengthen low- and moderate-income Latino families by promoting economic equity and social justice through asset building and community development. medasf.org
Leave a reply