Celebrating Legacy & the Impact of Research

Each year, the Women’s Foundation gathers to celebrate the leadership and legacy of supporters, community partners, and the impact we are making for gender and racial justice. At the annual Leadership Celebration on October 9, trailblazing WFM leaders Ellen O’Neill and Sandra L. Vargas received 2025 Mary Lee Dayton Catalyst for Change awards. The event also reflected on WFM’s 35 years of investing in research to understand the lives of women and girls within communities, identify assets and barriers, and fund solutions. Best Buy was a sponsor of the event.

Established in honor of Mary Lee Dayton, who made the first $1 million gift to any women’s fund in the world, the Catalyst for Change award is presented annually to WFM partners who use their resources and leadership to advance gender and racial equity and justice in Minnesota. Ellen O’Neill and Sandra L. Vargas have left a legacy on the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota through their generous leadership, unwavering belief in the power of women and girls, and dedication to changing systems for the better.

In accepting her award, Ellen, who was the Women’s Foundation’s first program director and the first executive director, told a story about how WFM’s founders explained their vision of addressing immediate needs while working to change the root causes and conditions of inequity. She said, “Being clear in our words and actions about the direction of change is very important, as is the courage to make it happen.”

Sandy reflected on the strength of her Latina roots as the foundation of her courage and vision. “As we look to the future,” she said, “let us remember that our true legacy is not in titles or awards, but in the lives we touch and the communities we help flourish.”

Research for Action: A 35-Year Legacy

The Women’s Foundation has been investing in research as a catalyst for action since its first report, Reflections of Risk: Growing Up Female in Minnesota, in 1990. Today, every two years, WFM releases the most comprehensive research of its kind in the state with the Status of Women & Girls in Minnesota, in partnership with the Center on Women, Gender, & Public Policy at the Humphrey School of the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Brittany Lewis, Founder & CEO of Research in Action led a conversation with community leaders Irma Márquez Trapero, CEO of LatinoLEAD; Nicole Matthews, CEO of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition; and Jennifer J. Polzin, CEO of Tubman, about how they use research to advance change, increase understanding, and gain investment for their organizations’ critical work.

Dr. Lewis reflected on the transformational power of disrupting traditional and exploitive research practices. “By investing in community-centered research, which prioritizes both authentic relationships and the co-production of knowledge, we can ignite change,” she said.

Nicole Matthews shared the story of how the Women’s Foundation provided funding for Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition to lead the Garden of Truth research in order to understand how trafficking was experienced in the local Native community. They talked to Native women in local communities about how trafficking was happening in their lives, the services they needed, how systems had failed them, and how they came to be trafficked and exploited. They led this research not to produce a report, but to change systems, improve services, and care for their relatives. “We have seen that research not only inform and educate service providers, but also policy makers and funders,” Nicole said. “We have seen it lead to an increase of not only funding, but an increase in research, and more people who have been wanting to raise awareness and more services for women ultimately.”

For Irma and LatinoLEAD, “Research for us really means a way to be able to tell the stories that we already know are happening.” She shared how Latinas are one of the fastest growing groups of entrepreneurs in the country, but are the least funded. In addition to research that highlights the gaps and disparities, she also believes in elevating positive stories. “We also have to make sure that we’re sharing the contributions of our gente at the same time.”

Jen Polzin shared how Tubman uses Women’s Foundation research to leverage other investment – through grant writing, testifying at the legislature, and to show the wisdom of our communities. In the face of the scarcity that can be seen in the data, she said we need “now more than ever to remember the abundance that is in our communities.”

“Thank you to the Women’s Foundation. Thank you, Dr. Lewis, for your approach to research and really linking and centering the voices and amplifying those voices to create real change,” she said.

At the conclusion of the event, Thomasina Petrus performed an original song, “What Are You Waiting For?”, inspired by Ketanji Brown Jackson, with pianist Thomas West.