In April, Malea Chavez joined the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) as Chief Program Officer, bringing decades of experience in community-based leadership. Born and raised in San Francisco’s Mission District, Malea has a long-standing connection to the neighborhood and previously worked at MEDA during two earlier chapters of her career, contributing to legal services and program development. Most recently, she served as CEO of the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, and has also held leadership roles as Executive Director of The Women’s Building and Deputy Director of Homeless Prenatal Program in San Francisco. A graduate of UC College of the Law, San Francisco, Malea has built a career focused on expanding opportunity and stability for working-class families.
In the reflection below, she shares what it means to return to MEDA and to the Mission District—and how her personal and professional journey has been shaped by this community.
When I walked into MEDA’s recent small business celebration, I was struck by how full-circle it all felt. The room was buzzing with entrepreneurs, families, elected officials, and community leaders. We were there to honor local businesses that are not only surviving, but actively shaping the Mission’s future. As I listened to the owners share their stories, unscripted, heartfelt, rooted in resilience, I was reminded why this work matters so much. When community development is grounded in real relationships, it becomes transformative.
This was one of my first community events since returning to MEDA, and it affirmed my decision to come back. My connection to this neighborhood runs deep. I was born at St. Luke’s. So was my mother. So was my child. The Mission isn’t just where I live, it’s who I am. My parents were active in the neighborhood during the 1970s and ’80s, and I grew up understanding that grassroots organizations could change lives.
My mom was a social worker, and my dad was a community organizer in the Mission. I spent much of my childhood at Mission Neighborhood Center and La Raza Community Resource Center. That early exposure shaped the way I view community work. When I became a Staff Attorney at the San Francisco Superior Court in 2005, I launched a legal clinic at La Raza CRC to offer community-based support. My dad worked at Arriba Juntos and with MLVS, so I was always taught that the best way to provide resources is to be place-based and meet people where they are.
I first joined MEDA in 2004 as a legal consultant, working on business preservation along the Mission corridor. One of the first businesses I supported was SanJalisco, the same restaurant that received the Legacy Award during San Francisco Small Business Week. Seeing them recognized nearly 20 years later was a powerful reminder of how lasting this work can be.
So much has changed since then. MEDA has grown into a full-spectrum community development organization, a housing developer, a lender, and a workforce hub. But what hasn’t changed is our core belief that working-class families deserve stability, opportunity, and dignity.
It’s incredible to see how much has been accomplished, especially in just the last decade. When I left MEDA in 2012, many of today’s initiatives, like the housing portfolio, the CDFI, Mission Promise Neighborhood, and expanded workforce programs, were still ideas, aspirations, or just beginning implementation. Today, they’re a reality. In just over 10 years, MEDA has built and preserved a housing portfolio that many might assume took decades. That kind of impact is rare, and it speaks to what’s possible when an organization is both visionary and relentless.
All of this is possible because of the relationships we’ve built, relationships based on trust, accountability, and care. I learned that early in my career. You do what you say you’re going to do. You show up, again and again. That kind of consistency builds trust that lasts. It’s why so many of us who have worked at MEDA come back. I’m not the only one.
I’m honored to be back. And I’m excited for what comes next, to continue responding to rapid change while also providing the steady, long-term support our community deserves. This work is not transactional. It’s rooted. It’s relational. And it’s ours to carry forward together.
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