Culture
Reflecting on Black History While Building What Comes Next
Black History Month is a time to reflect and celebrate the important people, circumstances, and events that have contributed to the experience of Black Americans in the United States. This month, we not only honor Black history, but also celebrate the work that our teaming partners, clients, and communities are doing to remove barriers and envision a future where support, equity, and access are achievable for all.
Looking Back
Network Weaving for First Time Black Homeowners: The Black Home Initiative and 1DROP
By Matt Hoffman
Puget Sound, Washington—Discriminatory housing practices (including redlining, racially restrictive covenants, and eminent domain) have prevented many in the Black community from purchasing homes. Although these sound like practices from the past, some are still in use today. In Washington state, the overall home ownership rate is 64 percent, while the Black home ownership rate is only 34 percent. This disparity reflects deep structural barriers to home ownership, wealth-building, and economic stability.
The Black Home Initiative (BHI) is a network of 125 nonprofits, private companies, governments, and associations working together to combat systemic inequalities and increase the rates of Black home ownership in the Pacific Northwest. The BHI aims to create opportunities for 1,500 new low- and moderate-income Black households to achieve home ownership by the end of 2028 and 3,000 total new low- and middle-income homeowners by 2033. As of February 2026, BHI is halfway to reaching its 2028 goal!
MFA works with BHI in several ways. Currently, members of our Planning and Engagement team and Analytics team are supporting BHI’s Land Identification and Strategy Project team as it works to identify suitable land for development by BHI partner developers and builders. MFA is working closely with another BHI partner, 1DROP, to shift this effort from a network project team to an operational land clearinghouse that will identify, assess, and equitably pair development opportunities with willing landowners and prepare BHI developers to build homes priced for low- and moderation-income families.
MFA is proud to be a BHI partner and is committed to advancing Black home ownership in the Puget Sound Region.
Looking Out
MFA Partners with Self Enhancement, Inc., to Support Environmental Assessment for Future Garfield Cultural Hub
By Merideth D’Andrea, Julianna Wetmore, and Michael Whitson
Portland, Oregon — MFA recently partnered with Self Enhancement, Inc., through Metro’s Brownfield Program to complete a Phase II environmental site assessment on a property located on Garfield Avenue in North Portland.
SEI is a longstanding community-based organization dedicated to serving youth, families, and adults through a holistic approach rooted in people, place, community, and purpose. At the center of SEI’s work is a young person who needs support, care, and opportunity to realize their full potential. SEI provides cradle‑to‑career services, meeting individuals where they are and walking alongside them through every stage of life.
Much like MFA’s multidisciplinary role in the environmental sector, SEI also serves the community through a wide range of culturally grounded programs that strengthen identity, build resilience, and create pathways for individuals and families to thrive. Each year, SEI provides thousands of community members with educational support, mentorship, and vital wraparound services.
Completed in 2025, MFA’s Phase II ESA evaluated environmental conditions resulting from historical uses of the property and provided important guidance to ensure worker and occupant safety during and after redevelopment. With the assessment complete, SEI plans to redevelop the site into The Garfield Development—a community-centered development featuring 59 affordable housing units and integrated support services. Construction is anticipated to begin in September 2026.
MFA is proud to support SEI’s continued efforts to strengthen communities and create spaces where youth and families can thrive.
Looking Forward
Continuing to Invest in Relational Teaming with Women and Minority-Owned Businesses: The Vida Agency
At MFA, we care deeply about building lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with our teaming partners. This is especially important for women and minority-owned businesses, as many barriers to their success still exist today.
While the average small business has a 70 percent chance of succeeding in their first two years, approximately 80 percent of Black-owned businesses fail within the first 18 months of operation. One of our long-time teaming partners, The Vida Agency, has blown past this statistic through not only succeeding in its first seven years but also serving many public-sector clients across the Puget Sound region and appearing on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest growing private companies in the country in 2025.
Owner and president, Amalia Martino, has centered Vida’s culture of public engagement around ensuring that public agencies hear directly from the community and consider different perspectives as they move impactful projects forward in the region. MFA is privileged to work with Vida on many projects, including our contracts for Community Transit and Puget Sound Energy, capital project work with King County Wastewater Division, and the work we do for the Washington State Department of Transportation.
In each project, Vida and MFA work collaboratively as one cohesive team to bring the best services to our clients. Vida’s unique skills, including multicultural marketing, statistically significant surveys, and multichannel media, make our engagement strategies stronger and ensure that our clients reach the communities they need to hear from most.
As we look towards the future, we think of our teaming relationship with Vida as a model for our future WMBE partnerships and a way to continue to uplift the valuable and necessary perspectives and expertise of Black-owned firms in the consulting industry.
