MEF: What in your life has inspired you to be philanthropic? Was there a central influence?

LDH: The main influence came from my early and teen years when my family had very little money. I was not able to pursue interests of mine like dance lessons; we did not take family vacations. We lived in an affluent community but we were not affluent. This had a very big impact on me in terms of realizing the pain and frustration of being a kid without resources. I now can understand what it feels like to have other people who have opportunities that you don’t have because of money. I think our culture is based so much on the assumption that the more money you have the more opportunities, power, and voice you have. I have a problem with that. I think it is very unfair especially for people who work incredibly hard. . .1-2-3 jobs. . . in order to have a home. I don’t even want to get into health care. I believe people should be able to meet basic needs without being forced to compromise their own quality of life or that of their family’s.

One issue I had struggled with over the years was that I had a very negative opinion of people with money. I was often envious and I didn’t like a lot of the attitudes I experienced — people seeming to feel they were better than me because they had money. I remember feeling what I had to offer wasn’t valuable. This is something I am now very aware of and I realize that my earlier beliefs were not necessarily accurate. Having money has its own issues, and people with money are just people who have money. While it can shape decisions, it doesn’t make someone who he or she fundamentally is as a person. The experience of growing up with less money than those around me really did influence me, and continues to.

After I left for college my father began to make money and my circumstances changed. Now I am sitting on the other side of this experience, able to afford more and my past influences my giving. I am particularly interested in giving to organizations that make a positive impact on peoples lives and help with the inequality that I see all over the place.

MEF: It sounds like this belief is part of your own backbone.

LDH: I hope so, and I hope it always is. I hope I’ve given that to my children. I think I have for now.

MEF: You have been a wonderful friend of MEF’s for a long time – over the years hosting events and making your own multi-year gifts. Can you see ways your involvement with us informs other parts of your life as well?

LDH: The biggest way is around media. I am very frightened about our country and the direction that we’ve gone in during the last 8 years. I think I learned about MEF before Hijacking Catastrophe was released, and when I saw this film for the first time I was blown away. I would say I have a very healthy skepticism of mainstream media and all the corporate influences on our culture. I have been increasingly disillusioned with what I hear on commercial media, which is why when I learned about MEF and saw the kinds of films you have made, I was very excited.

I love the fact that MEF is local and that I can be involved and know people on staff, but that MEF also has a national and international impact is what is so exciting to me. This is a real factor in my own decision-making process for giving gifts. When you have a limited amount of money to give, you have to ask yourself one big question — “How do you make the most impact?” How do you even define that? I have to ask myself — do I make a gift to support one person, one family, or a larger community? It’s a big question that we could spend hours debating but it is important to me to have an impact both locally as well as outside of my home community.

When I think about corporate media I am very disappointed. I feel like I have been pretty much an optimist and I don’t like to feel that things are so bad, but they are. I believe thinking otherwise is naïve. I want the truth in our media, and I want the truth about what is really happening so I can then be better able to make my own decisions. I feel – especially now – that MEF is so important. I think people can’t make good decisions — whether it’s about what food to buy, what medication to use, or who to vote for — unless we know the truth. I think about our kids and what they’re fed, what they see, what they are told their priorities should be. I love that MEF does so many varied films and that it is not just focusing on politics. MEF is about helping people make more informed choices about their personal lives.

Facts matter and people can’t make proper choices without information that is true. So that is a major reason why I love MEF and why I feel the work is crucial. The films just give a different viewpoint that I think people can choose to accept or not, but at least they have it.

MEF: Do you have one wish for MEF’s future?

LDH: I want to see more people know MEF’s work, and that is why I have made a multi-year commitment and why I will continue to support MEF. I want to help MEF get the word out about who you are and what you do. I just want to stress the importance of MEF’s critical contributions.

MEF: Lori, thank you so much for agreeing to share your thoughts and personal background with us. We are so appreciative for all the ways you have supported MEF. You and others like you make it possible to do our work in the world.

LDH: I am grateful to be in a position to be able to support the work you do.

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