Longmeier to led Marion Matters Inc.
A passion for serving her community is what drives Natalie Longmeier. And that passion is expected to serve her well in her new position as executive director of Marion Matters Inc.
Longmeier replaces longtime executive director Heidi Jones, who accepted the position of president with the Marion Area Chamber of Commerce in December 2022. Jones officially took the reins of the chamber in early February.
“I’m so excited to be in this role. I’ve been passionate about (Marion Matters) since I was at United Way,” Longmeier said. “It’s just an honor to be able to serve in this capacity, in this role. I love the mission.”
The mission of Marion Matters, Inc., as stated on the agency’s website, is “to provide leadership in developing and sustaining pathways out of poverty through education and support.” The agency’s vision is that “all people in Marion County will have the opportunity to reach their true potential.”
Longmeier joined the Marion Matters team in November 2019, serving as a success coach in the agency’s Employee Resource Network. She was elevated ERN coordinator in March of 2022. She said the experience she’s gained with Marion Matters has prepared her to step into this next phase of her career as executive director.
“I really got the chance to do the boots on the ground work and really see people and help people, see what they’re struggling with and help them reduce those barriers and work through those barriers to become stable,” Longmeier said. “That’s the mission of Marion Matters.”
Since its inception in 2010, Marion Matters has been providing training utilizing the Bridges Out of Poverty curriculum and the Getting Ahead program.
Over the years, Marion Matters has reached more than 2,000 local residents with the Bridges Out of Poverty curriculum and hundreds of area residents experiencing poverty have received training through the Getting Ahead program.
The agency has expanded its mission over time to reach more people in the community with a key addition to the agency’s tool kit being the Employer Resource Network (ERN), a program that is growing thanks to the leadership of Longmeier over the past three years.
“The ERN is the business component, meeting people where they are in their place of employment to help them stabilize their lives,” Longmeier said. “ERN is just one of several great components that we have to establish key partnerships in the community.”
Expanding the ERN to reach Morrow County and possibly other surrounding communities is a new priority for Marion Matters that is a direct result of its relationship with Marion Technical College and other organizations, shelongmeier said.
“When we partnered with Marion
Technical College, we realized we weren’t just serving students in Marion County,” she explained. “What the ERN did was expand our capacity for resources. So we’re looking into other counties for resources to support the people we serve. Morrow County is in the conversation for ERN development. That could result in eventually expanding into other counties if businesses are interested in joining the ERN. Being able to connect individuals to support systems is what it’s all about.”
Another new outreach entails taking the Getting Ahead program into one of the local prisons in Marion County to help those men reenter the community once they are released.
“We’re looking at partnering with one of the local prisons to offer the Getting Ahead curriculum inside the prison to help set those individuals up for success once they’re released,” she said. “We do work in some capacity with both North Central Correctional Complex and Marion Correctional Institution. They’re both very supportive of the Marion Matters programming, whether it’s for their employees or the individuals that are incarcerated. There’s room for Marion Matters to serve both prisons.”
Longmeier said Marion Matters remains a key player in local coalitions committed to addressing issues Marion County residents are facing with child care, housing, and transportation. Marion Matters is the transportation coalition’s lead agency, she said.
“If we don’t have access to housing, transportation, and child care, how do we help folks become stabilized if we don’t have those foundational support systems in our community?” she said.
For information about Marion Matters Inc., go to its website marionmatters.org.
Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @Andrewaccarter