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A Promise That Must Be Kept
Our Weekend with the People Behind the Lauren McCluskey Foundation
OCTOBER 18, 2026
There are occasions when we attend an event hoping to contribute something meaningful to an important cause, only to discover that we have received far more than we could possibly have given.
Our weekend in Pullman, Washington, with the Lauren McCluskey Foundation was one of those occasions.
On October 17, Debbie and I had the privilege of representing Seven Generations Innovation as sponsors of the Foundation’s annual Race for Campus Safety at Washington State University. We came to support an organization whose mission we deeply admire. We left with new friendships, a greater understanding of its remarkable work, and an even stronger commitment to helping advance that mission.
But what moved us most was the extraordinary courage, generosity, and grace of the people behind it. Promise
An Evening of Friendship and Purpose
Our introduction to the Foundation began through its Executive Director, Edwin Gianini, whom I first met at an event hosted by Washington State University’s Thomas S. Foley Institute, featuring former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta.
Edwin and I have stayed in touch, and he has since joined us for gatherings at our Spokane home involving community journalism, public service, and other initiatives close to our hearts.
When Edwin invited us to become sponsors of the Race for Campus Safety, we were delighted to participate.
After arriving in Pullman on Friday, we were treated to something we hadn’t anticipated: an invitation to an intimate barbecue at the home of Ron and Linda Mittelhammer, both deeply committed to the Foundation.
Linda serves as the Foundation’s Director of Community Relations, while Ron, a distinguished Washington State University Regents Professor, serves on its Board of Directors.
Ron prepared wonderful hamburgers and bratwurst, and our hosts welcomed us with the kind of warmth and hospitality that immediately makes strangers feel like friends.
It was a lovely evening, made especially meaningful by the opportunity to meet Lauren’s parents, Jill and Matt McCluskey.
I’ve struggled a little to find words that adequately express how deeply impressed Debbie and I were by these two remarkable people.
Both are distinguished scholars at Washington State University. Jill is a Regents Professor and Director of the School of Economic Sciences, while Matt is the Westinghouse Professor of Materials Science in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. His distinguished research career
includes more than 100 scientific publications, two patents, and the co-founding of a scientific technology company. Their individual professional accomplishments are impressive in their own right, but it is what they have undertaken together in Lauren’s memory that has touched us most profoundly.
They have endured a loss that no parent should ever have to experience. Yet rather than allowing that tragedy to be the final chapter in their daughter’s story, they have devoted themselves to protecting other young people and ensuring that Lauren’s life continues to make a difference.
Jill, who traveled extensively with Lauren during her years as a competitive athlete, founded the Lauren’s Promise initiative and continues to lead the Foundation’s efforts to strengthen campus safety. Together, she and Matt have brought their considerable talents, intellect, and determination to building an organization whose influence now reaches colleges and universities around the world.
Their courage and determination are extraordinary. But what affected us perhaps even more was their warmth, humility, and grace.
We were deeply honored to spend time with them and with the close friends and colleagues who have embraced their mission.
Another highlight of the evening was meeting a delightful young Canadian woman named Laura, an enthusiastic supporter of the Foundation who returns each year to participate in the Race for Campus Safety. And this year, she took home first place in the 5K!
Debbie and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her, discovering our shared affection for hockey and our mutual appreciation for the people and culture of Canada, and enjoying a spirited conversation about Canadian-American friendship.
Meeting Laura was another wonderful reminder of how Lauren’s legacy continues to bring people together. Through the Foundation’s work, friendships are formed, communities are strengthened, and people from different backgrounds and places come together in a shared commitment to protecting others.
And it reminds us that Lauren was not simply the subject of a tragic news story. She was a cherished daughter, a talented athlete, a devoted friend, and a remarkable young woman with an entire lifetime of possibilities ahead of her.
Lauren’s Story, and the Promise Born from Tragedy
On October 22, 2018, Lauren McCluskey, a 21-year-old honors student and track athlete at the University of Utah, was murdered by a man she had briefly dated.
In the days leading up to her death, Lauren repeatedly sought help from university authorities, reporting threats and expressing fears for her safety. She contacted campus police and university housing officials more than 20 times during a period of approximately ten days.
Lauren did exactly what we tell young people they should do when they feel threatened. She reported her concerns. She asked for help. She trusted that the people responsible for her safety would respond.
Her parents were deeply concerned as well. Jill personally contacted University of Utah police, expressing fears for Lauren’s safety and requesting a security escort for her daughter. She continued checking to ensure that arrangements had been made, but they were not. Lauren was not alone in recognizing the danger or seeking protection.
Sadly, despite these efforts, the institutions entrusted with Lauren’s safety failed to recognize and adequately respond to the escalating threats she faced. The University of Utah would later formally acknowledge that it had failed Lauren and her family.
For Debbie and me, this is among the most heartbreaking aspects of Lauren’s story. Her death was not simply an act of terrible violence. It exposed institutional failures that must be confronted if we are to prevent similar tragedies.
In the aftermath, Jill McCluskey created a pledge whose simplicity carries enormous moral weight.
Lauren’s Promise:
“I will listen and believe you if someone is threatening you.”
Just eleven words.
Yet within those words is a commitment that can and will save lives.
The promise asks something fundamental of every one of us: that we take people seriously when they tell us they are afraid, that we listen without dismissing their concerns, and that we help connect them with the protection and assistance they need.
But listening and believing must be the beginning, not the end, of our responsibility.
A promise means little without the willingness to act.
A Promise Reaching Around the World
What Jill, Matt, and the dedicated people of the Lauren McCluskey Foundation have accomplished is remarkable.
Lauren’s Promise has now been embraced by thousands of individuals and more than 400 colleges and universities across 16 countries. Many of these institutions are taking their commitment further, working with the Foundation to strengthen campus safety and improve how they recognize and respond to threats of violence.
From the United States, Canada, and Mexico to Europe, Asia, Australia, and beyond, educators and community members are embracing the responsibility to listen, believe, and respond when someone feels threatened.
The Foundation’s work extends well beyond the pledge itself.
Through education, research, advocacy, training, and collaboration with universities, law enforcement, and community organizations, it is working to transform the ways institutions recognize and respond to stalking and relationship violence.
This work challenges deeply entrenched institutional habits, particularly the tendency to minimize warning signs, underestimate threats, or assume that someone else will intervene.
It also reminds us that meaningful change requires more than good intentions. It requires accountability, institutional leadership, and a willingness to confront failures openly.
For Seven Generations Innovation, these principles resonate profoundly with our own mission of advancing a more democratic, empathetic, and sustainable future.
We believe that the well-being of future generations depends upon the choices we make today.
Lauren’s Promise is a compelling expression of that responsibility.
A Beautiful Morning in Pullman
Saturday morning brought beautiful autumn weather and an equally beautiful gathering of people at Washington State University.
The Race for Campus Safety welcomed participants in 1K, 5K, and 10K events, along with volunteers, families, sponsors, students, and supporters united by a common purpose.
There was tremendous energy and enthusiasm throughout the morning.
WSU and U of I mascots added a festive spirit; students gathered at the starting line, and volunteers worked enthusiastically to make the event welcoming and memorable.
Even the four-legged participants seemed to be enjoying themselves!
At our Seven Generations Innovation booth, Debbie and I had the pleasure of meeting students from Washington State University and the University of Idaho, along with fellow sponsors, volunteers, faculty, and members of the surrounding community.
We talked about the Foundation, our work at Seven Generations Innovation, and the importance of building communities where compassion and responsibility are not merely aspirations but guiding principles.
For us, these conversations were immensely rewarding pieces of the experience.
We were especially encouraged by the young people who volunteered their time or participated in the races. Their willingness to engage with such an important cause gives us hope for the future.
There was laughter, camaraderie, and celebration throughout the morning, but beneath it all was a profound shared understanding of why we had all gathered.
We were all there to honor Lauren, support her incredible mother and father, and to help ensure that her story continues to inspire meaningful change.
Carrying Lauren’s Promise Forward
As we drove home to Spokane, Debbie and I reflected on the wonderful people we had met and the remarkable generosity of spirit we had witnessed and experienced firsthand throughout our visit.
And we kept returning to Jill and Matt.
I cannot imagine the depth of grief they have had to bear. Nor can I adequately express my admiration for the courage and determination with which they have transformed that grief into such a profound and enduring mission of protection, compassion, and hope.
They have built, and continue to build, something that reaches far beyond Pullman, beyond Utah, and beyond the United States.
They are helping create a world in which a frightened young person asking for help is far more likely to be heard, believed, and protected.
That is an extraordinary legacy for their beloved Lauren.
And it is a legacy that deserves the strong and ongoing support of all of us.
Debbie and I are now discussing ways to bring greater awareness and financial support to the Lauren McCluskey Foundation through an event in our Spokane community.
We hope to introduce many more friends and neighbors to Lauren’s story, her parents’ remarkable commitment, and the people working alongside them.
To Edwin, Ron and Linda Mittelhammer, Jill and Matt McCluskey, Laura Clarke, and everyone who welcomed us so warmly in Pullman: thank you.
Thank you for your friendship, your hospitality, and your unwavering dedication to something so important.
Most of all, thank you for reminding us that even in the face of unimaginable loss, people can choose to respond with love, courage, and a determination to protect others.
Lauren’s Promise is more than a pledge. It is a responsibility we share.
May we all have the wisdom to listen, the compassion to believe, and the courage to act.
And may we always hold dear the memory of the remarkable young woman whose life inspired it.
— Ron and Debbie Reed
Writer and musician, and the founder of Seven Generations Innovation. His work explores democracy, ecological responsibility, public conscience, and the obligation to act with care for the generations still to come.
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One Response
Dear Ron and Debbie,
What a wonderful article! I’m so grateful that our paths have crossed and that I’ve had the opportunity to meet you both. It means so much to meet people who genuinely care about the Foundation and the work we do to honour Lauren’s legacy.
Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and support. We truly appreciate it, and I hope we’ll have many more opportunities to see you both at future Foundation events. It would be lovely to stay connected!
Warmly,
Laura