LOWENSTEIN TRUST
Recognizing those who are making a difference for the underserved
For the 32nd year, the Trustees of the Lowenstein Trust are actively soliciting nominations for the annual Steve Lowenstein Award.
The Lowenstein Trust, C/O Charles Williamson, 5304 SW 34th Place, Portland, OR 97239-1125.
Dr. S. Renee Mitchell
Award Recipient of the 2023 Annual Steve Lowenstein Award
The Lowenstein Trust is very proud to announce the recipient of its 32nd annual Steve Lowenstein Award to Dr. S. Renee Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell is being recognized for her immeasurable work to instill hope, courage, and healing among Portland’s African American community and beyond. The Award presentation will take place at a meeting of the Portland City Council in early 2024.
Dr. Mitchell has demonstrated a long-term and deep commitment to Portland’s African American community, working for decades as a journalist, author, poet, playwright, and educator. Having survived a lifetime of trauma, Dr. Mitchell draws from her experiences and applies them for the good of others. Known affectionately as “Dr. Renee,” she is described as a treasured gift in the community who empowers so many others. She consistently identifies opportunities and creates programs that both inspire and heal, enabling those she engages with to move through their challenges and find hope.
Dr. Mitchell’s vision, combined with her commitment to community, helped create the Soul Restoration Center, a place where low-income youth of color come together, find their voice, and clarify their purpose. In early 2022, Dr. Mitchell transformed a neglected building in gentrified NE Portland into a new home and vibrant cultural gathering place for the Soul Restoration Center. This is where Black people of all ages experience what it feels like to be culturally seen, centered, and authentically supported. The Center is also being recognized for its extraordinary capacity to convene, celebrate, and build a strong sense of community.
Dr. Mitchell has been described as a person who leads with love and compassion and whose influence is both far-reaching and lasting. Her sense of purpose and perseverance is devoted to recognizing and nurturing the rich opportunities of African American, instilling pride within the larger Black community. As one nominator described, “Dr. Renee is a treasured gift in our community who has inspired and empowered so many others.”
The Lowenstein Trust Award will be presented by the Portland City Council on Wednesday, February 7th at 9:30 a.m. Space is available for community members to watch council meetings at the City’s Development Services Center:
View council meetings scheduled for the current week on the Council Agenda. Council meetings are live streamed on the City’s YouTube channel. Council meetings are cablecast live on City Net 30, Portland Community Media television (Xfinity channel 30 and 330 HD). CityNet is also available to watch live on the Open Signal website.
Each year, the Lowenstein Trustees solicit community members to identify an individual whose contribution to people in need within Portland upholds the spirit of Steve Lowenstein’s memory. In his will, Steve specified that the recipient of the annual Lowenstein Trust Award “shall be that person who demonstrated (in the opinion of the Trustees) the greatest contribution to assisting the poor and underprivileged in the City of Portland, Oregon. “
We look for someone who has dedicated themselves to a particular cause that benefits others. Often this person has been working for years behind the scenes in a volunteer capacity or receiving low compensation. The recipient must be in need of these funds to help carry on his or her work and must use the award to further the type of work for which it was given. The $10,000 honorarium is typically given to the individual and funneled through the organization affiliated with the award recipient to strengthen and continue their work. A list of past recipients can be found here.
In his own right, Steve Lowenstein was a model of public service. Steve joined the Peace Corps after law school in the early 1960s and wrote a textbook on Ethiopian law. He worked in Washington DC for the Office of Economic Opportunity and in Chile for the Ford Foundation. He was founding Director of Oregon Legal Services, authored a groundbreaking history – The Jews of Oregon 1850-1950 – and at the time of his death in 1990, had served for six years as Executive Assistant to former Portland City Commissioner Mike Lindberg. Steve’s sense of purpose, integrity and perseverance inspired many of us who have worked on human rights and social justice issues.
For more information about The Lowenstein Trust you may email pdxmargie@gmail.com or write:
THE LOWENSTEIN TRUST
C/O Charles Williamson
5304 SW 34th Place
Portland, Oregon 97239-1125
Trustees
Art Alexander, Ronault LS Catalani, Jamaal Folsom, Monica Goracke, Michelle Harper, Margie Harris, Joe Hertzberg,
Marc Jolin, Paul Kelly, Adrienne Livingston, Xavier Pierce, Shelli Romero, Charles R. Williamson
Honorary Trustees
Sandra Haefker, Daniel Jacobs, Mike Lindberg, Chris Lowenstein, Lee Rosner, Kris Wilkinson
In Memoriam
Nick Fish, Gretchen Kafoury, Ron Paul