Alumni Spotlight: Maria McDaniel, LT’14

“It’s the little things that cause the ripple effect, and those are the voices and tasks that sometimes go unseen. My experience at LT reinforced the need to continue to speak up, show up, have a seat at the table, and not take for granted your actions and how they really do make an impact.”

Photo: Black & Tan Hall partners, 2018 - Maria McDaniel is in the center of the back row.

Maria McDaniel, born and raised in Seattle, is deeply involved in her community and in Leadership Tomorrow. She is a member-owner (Partner) of Seattle’s Black & Tan Hall and serves on the Board of Directors of Seattle CityClub, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) Customer Review Panel, and SPU’s Creeks, Drainage & Wastewater Advisory Council. She is also a Lifetime Member at the Southeast Seattle Senior Center and a Board Advisor at Onyx Gallery. For LT, she served as a Class Coach for LT’15, currently serves as a Class Rep for LT’14, is an active member of LT’s POC Alumni Group, and has served on the Screening and Selection Committee. 

When asked how LT has influenced her leadership and community involvement, Maria shared that LT helped reinforce her understanding of regional issues, such as gentrification, and the need for POC ownership. She regularly draws on the five practices of exemplary leadership from The Leadership Challenge®. 

LT gave Maria greater appreciation for the small “l” leaders, noting that they are often the people who get things done. “It’s the little things that cause the ripple effect, and those are the voices and tasks that sometimes go unseen. My experience at LT reinforced the need to continue to speak up, show up, have a seat at the table, and not take for granted your actions and how they really do make an impact.” 

Here are a few examples of how Maria lives those values and continues to show up, speak up, and make an impact. 

Maria bought into the Black & Tan Hall in 2017. She is committed to its goals of having a Black-led and owned project in an area impacted by gentrification that can serve as a go-to place for community members to call home, break bread, have conversations, and experience the arts. Maria believes it is valuable for black and brown people to own business property so they can be in control, not be at the whim of landlords, and work to have a voice in regional planning.  

“Inspired by Seattle’s Black & Tan Club--prominent in the 1930s--the Black & Tan Hall is a cooperatively-owned performing arts and restaurant venue which will maintain Rainier Valley as a destination for cross-cultural arts and education events. Historically, Black & Tan clubs offered a haven for people of all races in an era when segregation dictated social boundaries. Black & Tan Hall embraces that inclusive ethos while celebrating South Seattle’s rich music, arts and cultural history” - Black & Tan Town Hall Patreon page 

The current Black & Tan Hall began in 2015 as a cooperative business model. In this model, partners buy into the project and contribute a minimum of 52 hours per year. Many of the partners are artists, and there is also a Fellows Program for young adults to learn about business. The partners began renting a former theater on Rainier Avenue in Hillman City in 2016; they plan to purchase the building and make renovations to bring the building up to code.  

Maria is also on the Board of Directors of Seattle CityClub, serving on their Program Committee, Finance Committee, Governance Committee, and Fund Development Committee.  

In her role as a Board Member, Maria has been working to reestablish and mend relationships with marginalized communities after many people in these communities opposed Seattle CityClub’s speaker, Jeh Johnson, at their Benefit Luncheon last year. Jeh Johnson is the former Secretary of Homeland Security who, under the Obama Administration, established the immigration camps, a system the current administration is using to house immigrant children in cages.  

To help reestablish and mend relationships, Maria initiated and became Chair of an Outreach Committee. In this role, Maria is working with the board and staff to figure out what CityClub can do better to connect and engage with all voices in the community and to really listen to those that are not usually heard. The Outreach Committee is currently meeting with community leaders and plans to have listening sessions with the broader community to develop a plan to address concerns and needs.