Morgan Anker '15: A Journey of Purpose and Impact

After bidding farewell to Sierra Canyon, Morgan found her perfect fit at Washington University in St. Louis. There, she majored in English and minored in Art History, quickly realizing this combination was just what she was looking for, "I had lots of space over my four years to take a wide range of classes. One of my favorite parts of college was the way that courses in different departments talked to each other in unexpected ways, and working from an interdisciplinary and intersectional lens is a practice that I continue in my personal and professional life." She feels lucky to have made some life-long friends in St. Louis, which she describes as, "very cool, overlooked, with an amazing music scene."  

After graduating in 2019, Morgan moved to Denver, Colorado. She began to find community quickly through the people she lived with and through the Denver/Boulder chapter of the Sunrise Movement. "It took me a long time to find a full-time job, and in the interim, I dove deep into community organizing around environmental justice through the Sunrise Movement. Ultimately, I determined that my contribution to the movement was best mobilized through internal systems change work, and that led me to leave Sunrise and work on a couple of campaigns, including Congresswoman Cori Bush's 2020 campaign. While my passion was never electoral politics, working on campaigns gave me an "in" to do what I was really interested in at the time: public policy."

In the spring of 2021, Morgan became the Chief of Staff for Colorado State Representative Naquetta Ricks and also joined Seven Sisters Community Development Group part-time. "These two jobs helped me participate in different approaches to systems change—one that operates top-down from the state and another that operates hyper-locally from the bottom-up and has to navigate institutions."

Today, Morgan still happily calls Denver, Colorado, home. Over the last two and a half years, she's found her niche at Seven Sisters, recently accepting a promotion to Associate for the organization. In this majority Native-owned community development firm, the work of Morgan and her colleagues is rooted in creating systemic change and supporting self-reliant individuals, organizations, and communities. Morgan's dedication to Indigenous sovereignty and the Red Deal has found a meaningful outlet in this role, and she continues to be a driving force in advocating for sustainable, self-determined tribal communities. "Through this work, I'm gaining exposure to the successes and missteps of organizations as they try to carry out their missions. In particular, I'm getting very curious about how members of different generations relate to the idea of work (their expectations, their needs, and how they define fundamental concepts in the workplace), and I'm eager to continue facilitating much-needed conversations around staff/leadership/board dynamics."

Many Trailblazers will remember that Morgan was not the only Anker to grace the halls of Sierra Canyon. We are pleased to report that she was glad to oblige us with updates on the entire Anker clan! Mr. and Mrs. Anker are currently living happily in northwest Montana with two dogs and three horses. Mr. Anker, a former History Department Chair at the Upper Campus, spends much of his time outside riding horses, skiing, and maintaining EZ Acres, and Jen, former Lower School Receptionist turned College Counseling Coordinator, loves to spend her days gardening, cooking, traveling, and dancing. Morgan's younger sister, Natasha '17, graduated from CU Boulder in 2021 and shortly after moved to Denver. Unsurprisingly, Natasha has had an incredible start to her own career, working her way up through the ranks at Booyah Advertising, a digital marketing agency that's consistently listed on various outlets' "Best Place to Work" lists. Tash is now one of Booyah's Digital Media Managers. 

For recent Sierra Canyon grads, Morgan has some invaluable advice, "Let your interests guide you in shaping your post-high school life. Seek guidance, build community, and prioritize learning and personal growth over career-building. Your community, however you define it, will be your anchor in challenging times and will help you find your path."

Morgan graciously welcomes any Sierra Canyon alums seeking career or college advice to reach out via email at morgananker@gmail.com.

Morgan, you truly exemplify the spirit of Sierra Canyon, where passion, purpose, and community come together to create extraordinary journeys. We are so proud of you and look forward to seeing the impact you continue to make on the world!

Fun fact: Morgan was voted "Most Likely to Win a Nobel Peace Prize" in her Senior Year!