> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Rhonda Meister - URL: https://www.smdp.com/communityprofiles-rhonda-meister/ - Published: 2008-03-31T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T19:05:17.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Community, Downtown, #archive-import, Homeless, Homelessness *Meister considers next steps in life* DOWNTOWN, SM Rhonda Meister walked up Broadway on a chilly Friday afternoon when a Big Blue Bus pulled up beside her and a familiar face stepped out. “Rhonda!” exclaimed the bus passenger, a woman whose face was familiar but whose name escaped Meister at the moment.“I read that you were leaving St. Joseph Center!” The woman was a former client at St. Joseph Center — a Venice-based non-profit organization that serves low-income families and homeless individuals — where Meister has served as the executive director since 1986\. Once a homeless woman, the former client informed Meister on that chilly Friday afternoon a story that warmed her heart — she has been off the streets and living on her own for the past year and a half. It was then when Meister had one of those career-affirming moments, knowing the value of her life’s work and the center’s mission of helping some of the neediest individuals in the county. Today marks Meister’s last day on the job as the executive director at St. Joseph Center, handing the duties on to Va Lecia Adams, who served as the director for transitional living at United Friends of the Children. With the opening of the new state-of-the-art service center approaching, Meister felt it was time to say goodbye. “I felt like it was the right time to step away and have someone else take over,” Meister said during an interview on Friday. It was in 1984 when Meister, a relatively new face to Los Angeles, joined the staff at St. Joseph Center as the case manager for the Homeless Service Center. The Western Massachusetts native was hired at the non-profit organization after serving a brief stint at the Los Angeles House of Ruth, a safe haven for homeless and battered women and children. A year into her job, Meister met with Sister Marilyn Rudy, CSJ — who co-founded the center with Sister Louise Bernstein, CSJ — who informed that she was going on a one-year sabbatical and would hand the executive director duties to the rookie. Meister accepted the position thinking that it was an interim title and Rudy would be back the following year. “I thought it would be challenging but very interesting,” Meister said. “All of us work together well and I wasn’t the big boss. We were all in it together.” After Rudy returned from her sabbatical, the sister sat Meister down during lunch and told her she was leaving for good, Meister would become the permanent executive director. It was a not-so gradual ascension to the top, Meister said. “I had a great deal of respect for (Rudy and Bernstein),” Meister said. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t disappoint their vision.” The center was founded in 1976 in a small storefront on Rose Avenue in Venice, starting out small with just two programs and a modest staff of about 12 people. The organization has grown in the past three decades, now staffed with 110 people who oversee about 10 programs housed in seven different Westside locations, including several in Santa Monica. The center serves about 7,000 people every year. “We’ve certainly kept the mission alive,” Meister said. One of the biggest population of clients for St. Joseph Center is the homeless, running several programs including the Homeless Service Center, the Affordable Housing Program and the Bread & Roses Cafe, which provides hot meals for homeless individuals. While the center serves the entire Westside, a sizable population is from Santa Monica. Meister complimented the city of Santa Monica as being at the forefront of addressing the issue of homelessness for more than 20 years, a model for the city and county of Los Angeles. “They can look to the commitment Santa Monica has made and use it as a model and step up their game,” she said. Meister stressed the need for more housing for homeless individuals and more work to be done not only on the part of the government, but by the community. She often remembers the lives that have been changed because of the work of employees at the center. She recalls a former homeless client who in 1998, amidst the struggle over the development of a new community center on Fourth Street and Rose Avenue, decided to make a better impression on the community, cleaning up the alley behind Rose from Fourth to Seventh streets. It wasn’t a one-time routine, but something that continued every day, Meister said. Today, that individual is now the owner of a car detailing business and keeps in touch with Meister. “That particular person said ‘hey, we can show the community that we are responsible,’” Meister said. SMALL-TOWN ROOTS Meister grew up on a farm in Central Illinois before she moved to Western Massachusetts. She attended Newton College just outside of Boston and received her divinity degree in policy and ethics from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago before making her way west, hoping to escape the frigid weather for good. She’s worked exclusively for non-profit organizations. “It’s the biggest privilege to get up for work every day and know what you’re doing is having a big impact not only on individuals, but on the community as a whole,” she said. While Meister said she isn’t retiring and cutting off all ties with St. Joseph Center, she has yet to figure out her next step, perhaps working in consulting or for foundations. What she does know is that she wants to take some time off. “I’m going to walk out with an open heart and wait and be surprised,” she said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 31, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/033108.pdf?ref=smdp.com)