In memory of Priscilla Harvey, a grandmother, a mother, a community leader, a friend.
A joke I like to tell is that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My grandmother was a maid, my grandfather was a butler, and my mother was a cook for a prominent (white) Houston family. Although they worked in the service sector, we were “elite adjacent.” Accordingly, we often had access to silver platers, crystal vases, and yes, silver spoons my folks would bring home after work to dutifully clean and polish to take back the next day. They made sure to instill in me the value of serving others, which I have done in many ways my entire life.
In middle school I befriended and protected disabled students who were bullied. In high school, I mentored others who struggled to keep up in class. In college I founded a tutoring organization focused on providing virtual classroom services, which over the years successfully assisted hundreds children with standardized exam prep and, since college, I have led ministries for the homeless and unwell. Although not a traditional silver spooner, I have worked hard to use my privileges to give back to others and proudly enter this next chapter of my life ready to deepen my impact through service.
My academic journey at Harvard deepened my understanding of non-profit management, public-private partnerships and governance, and exposed me to entrepreneurs and successful interventions like the Codman Square health clinic and its proprietor Bill Walczak. Additionally, as a pupil of Dr. Winship’s from the sociology department I emersed myself in data analytics, focusing on econometrics and program design. My coursework with Paul Peterson, Fernando Reimers, and Roland Fryer about education reform coupled with others about the correlation of poverty and disease at Harvard medical school allowed me to explore the complex relationships between education, healthcare, and economic disparities.
During my time at Google, I gained useful skills launching education programs, designing grants and supporting workforce development. I was deeply involved in initiatives aimed at achieving education equity, empowering underrepresented talent in the tech industry, and addressing race and wealth-based health disparities. My work in grant strategy aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the social determinants of health. My team deployed 800 million dollars (of Google’s money) directly into the hands of diverse non-profit leaders.
However, my life took a sudden and unexpected turn. My grandmother (who raised me) fell seriously ill with cancer. I made the difficult decision to leave my job to be her hospice caregiver. She passed away a year ago in February of 2023.
In her memory I founded the Settegast Revitalization Initiative (SRI) using the same 501(c)(3) I had created 10 years prior dedicated to education (during a 2014 Kennedy school course taught by Carl Byers). An eye-opening study from Rice University revealed that my childhood neighborhood (Settegast.org) has a 24-year gap in life expectancy due to healthcare inaccessibility. Dr. Winship, my thesis advisor, introduced me to Bill Walczak (founder of Codman Square health clinic) and we formed a partnership with some folks from healthcare, tech, finance, and the pentagon to tackle this issue head on.
With a seed fund of $180,000, personally funded from my Google savings and stock, I secured a building (49-year lease) hired an architect, and built our a team. While our building is under construction, drawing inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr.'s writings and recent data, I am determined to conduct independent research both to learn more about how healthcare, education, and housing are critical drivers of inequality, as well as to upskill on what NGOs have done in response. This research will serve as the foundation for my immediate venture to stand up this health facility as well as for a future endeavors as a public servant in Texas.
