For Annie Baymiller, Global Chief Information Officer and Executive VP of Owens Corning, and Dr. Amanda Murray, associate professor at the University of Toledo, philanthropy is a way of life shaped early and carried forward into a shared commitment to the place they now call home.
"Giving and service has been a really big part of both of our lives growing up, and then into our professional lives as well,” Amanda said. Her work in healthcare keeps her close to the need. “I feel like I get a sense of purpose giving back.” When the couple decided Toledo would be home, they made a deliberate choice to invest locally. “We wanted to feel like we were making our hometown better,” Annie said. Through her service on the Metroparks Foundation Board she came to see philanthropy’s ripple effect firsthand — not just beautiful parks but economic growth and thriving neighborhoods. “You see all these happy people and you see prosperity happening in areas of our community that did not have that in the past.”
Their giving has grown around shared passions and a recognition of what matters most to the other. Amanda hopes to one day help students afford the education that opened doors for her and strengthen the healthcare workforce in the process. “That would be truly a dream come true.”
Working with the Community Foundation has helped turn ideas into plans. “These are the discussions we love having,” Annie said. “We don't know where to start. Having a team that can say ‘we do that all the time’ just lets us plan into the future.”
Their advice for others: start where you can. As Amanda put it, “Time is a really important resource. Start off with whatever you can do.”
Watch the full conversation here.