2023 Community Impact Award Winner: Darcie de Freitas
We are excited to announce that Darcie de Freitas, an SVP Partner, is the 2023 Sarah Cohen-Doherty Community Impact Award recipient! As you may remember, this award recognizes someone within the SVP Portland community who epitomizes the characteristics that enabled our former staff member Sarah to have such a positive impact at SVP. Darcie exemplifies a genuine care for others, a focus on developing meaningful relationships, a personal commitment to equity, and is a changemaker in the community to ensure that all children thrive.
Darcie joined the Partnership in 2021 because she liked our venture philanthropy model, especially the role we play as an incubator for start-ups. Additionally, she grew up in Hillsboro and currently lives in Cornelius, so she is deeply invested in our expansion into Washington County. She makes an incredible contribution to SVP's mission through her work as our Lead Partner for both Community Action of Washington County and Washington County Preschool for All. She is leading the exploratory phase for four potential new Community Partners, by helping each develop a proposal that reflects the potential goals, outcomes, and impacts of a prospective partnership with SVP. She is also a member of our Portfolio Management Team.
“The significance of SVP's relationship with Community Action cannot be understated. This partnership is laying the groundwork for Preschool for All in Washington County in an organic and meaningful way,” says Relationship Manager Dylan Hall. “Darcie works hard, and takes her role with SVP very seriously. We are lucky to have her contributing in all the ways she does!”
“Darcie is always willing to provide thoughtful leadership, and she has an evident commitment to advancing early childhood education goals and is deeply engaged in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work,” adds Finance & Operations Manager LB Yockey Jones.
The Award selection process began with nominations from the SVP community, and then Sarah’s parents, SVP Partners Ruth and Jerry Cohen, chose three finalists. The exceptional finalists were reviewed by a team of staff and Partners, who chose this year’s winner. At the award presentation during our Summer Social, Director of Community Impact Carolina Castañeda del Río said, “It has been a pleasure collaborating with Darcie! She has great care and commitment to our community, and that shows in the depth of her engagement in many projects that impact the early childhood ecosystem in Washington County and beyond.”
Thank you to all who attended the 2023 Summer Social, where we celebrated togetherness and honored Sarah’s memory and Darcie’s achievement.
Please consider a contribution to the The Sarah Cohen-Doherty Memorial Fund, dedicated to SVP Portland’s goal that all children have access to high-quality, culturally-relevant early learning experiences. We cannot think of a better way to celebrate Sarah’s life than continuing the work to which she was so committed.
