After 14 years of dedicated service, we share the deeply bittersweet news that Stefanie Narhi will retire from her role at the Murdock Trust at the end of June.
Stefanie joined our team in 2012 as Executive Assistant and quickly became an indispensable contributor to our work. She supported a decade of CEO Emeritus Steve Moore's leadership, then continued leading the executive office as Romanita Hairston became the Trust's fifth CEO in 2022. During that time, she supported and managed communication for four Trustees, including one retirement and one onboarding. She played a critical role in more than 100 Trustee meetings where grants were awarded, investments were reviewed, and organizational business was conducted, serving as a backbone to the process and to the Trust's foundational work.
"I can think of few people more indispensable to the smooth functioning of the Trust's work, especially the executive office, than Stefanie," says Romanita Hairston, CEO. "Her steady commitment, patience, and dedication to excellence have shaped, in large and small ways, how we operate and get things done. This investment has in turn impacted everything else at the Trust. I cannot express how deeply I will miss Stefanie’s incomparable professional skills, and even more, the true care that she brings to everything she does. She has had a profound impact on the Trust!"
Stefanie also brought her strategic skills to planning all-staff trips across our region for nearly a decade, coordinating travel to visit partners in the San Juan Islands, Alaska, Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, Montana, British Columbia, Washington D.C., and the Oregon Coast. She managed logistics for staff and their families to be warmly celebrated at holiday dinners and coordinated Founder's Day celebrations making space for community partners to connect with our team and honor the good work of our region. To fully quantify her contributions would be an impossible task, and no accounting could capture the care, excellence, and warmth she brought to every project, big or small.
“Stefanie has brought so much to the Trust over the last 14 years," says Jeff Grubb, Trustee. "Her servant heart, attention to detail, and dedication to our mission has set the tone for how we work together. We are so grateful for her years of dedicated service to the Trust and wish her all the best in her next chapter."
Despite the invaluable contributions she has made to the Trust's operations and executive functioning, Stefanie will likely be most remembered for her calming presence, quiet humor, warm spirit, and care for her colleagues. She has consistently offered a listening ear or a word of wisdom to all who sought her out, and it is those qualities that our offices will miss most of all.
“The Murdock Trust has been so blessed to have Stefanie Narhi as a key member of the team,” says Steve Moore, CEO Emeritus.” She represents the highest example of a professional-committed to the Murdock mission and values, the people being served and helping all those around her succeed. I was especially fortunate to work closely with Stefanie and learned to appreciate her wisdom, insights, humor, and commitment to excellence. Her family and friends will now be doubly blessed to have her bring all of those qualities to the next exciting chapter in her life!”
Please join us in honoring Stefanie's 14 years of impact at the Murdock Trust, and wishing her all the best as she enters her well-deserved retirement.