This organization began years ago with Oscar Roger Murriel, II. This is his story:
Although a junior, Oscar Roger Murriel, II was raised by a single mother after being abandoned by his father. Born during the Great Depression, he worked from early childhood, starting out selling newspapers and holding various jobs until joining the army in WWII. He learned everything he could at these jobs – sales, bookkeeping, the value of good people, etc.
After his discharge, he went right back to work until a career-ending injury ended his construction role at Harvard University. By then though, he had saved enough to buy his own home, a restaurant, and other real estate which he turned into low-income housing for his family, friends, and community at large.
He spent the latter part of his life working for himself and hiring people for his own community to work with him. He wasn’t afraid to mentor them and often invested his time and patience into people who weren’t particularly qualified because he knew they could learn. He taught friends, family and anyone who would listen how to invest in themselves and their community.
I was lucky enough to be one of those family members and our other board member, Nathania Smith, is the daughter of one of those friends. Together we keep his memory, his message, and his movement alive.
His Story Led to Mine
I am Oscar’s granddaughter, Rogera Toussaint-Michel (born Rogera Murriel). After he literally lost his son to kidney failure and figuratively lost his daughter (her mother) to mental illness, I became the only child he had left to pass his legacy down to. He took me in when my mother couldn’t care for me and raised me as his own, so not only did he accept this responsibility but he was always “Daddy” to me.
He invested his time, energy, and money into my education and learning the family business. I attended Cambridge Public Schools and despite his obligations as a landlord and caregiving to his ill wife, he spent much of his time teaching me at home. By the age of 8, he had taught me how to balance a checkbook, handle money responsibly, and make minor repairs around the home.
“Roger” or “Uncle Roger” (as he went by) never finished high school but was always brilliant. He respected what could be learned on one’s own but still valued formal education, so he ensured I was in every academic program he could find. He made sure I was ready often and he made sure I finished college. Education was always my only responsibility.
We were always close, so it was only natural that I inherited his entrepreneurial mindset, commitment to hard work, and his desire to help others. After graduating from Hofstra University, I worked for 2 of the world’s leading public relations agencies. I thought a midtown Manhattan, PR job would be a dream come true but after seeing how they failed to help the community, I became disheartened. Thankfully, however, I also became determined to help myself.
I formed my first company, Urban NYCHE (New York City’s Hottest Events) to give independent restaurants (like my Grandparents’) access to the tools and strategies they needed to compete with the city’s larger event producers. A decade later, after expansion after expansion, I incorporated, hired a team, and rebranded as MTM Executives today.
From Cambridge, MA to New York, NY and Back Again
Sadly, my grandfather developed Alzheimer’s several years ago and it became the only thing able to keep him from working, teaching, and helping others. So, I moved back to Cambridge, MA to care for him and his business… and inadvertently started another – this one. Cambridge gifted me my helpful husband (and now co-founder), Marc Michel, and his family who immediately helped us turn Daddy’s Alzheimer’s story into this beautiful one.
It’s taken years, and Daddy is no longer with us, but he helped us form The MTM Institute and is largely responsible for our MTM Network. We continue to run it in his honor. With it, we hope to spread his generosity and his appreciation of knowledge and business to those who are willing to learn.
I hope my sons, M. Toussaint and M. Michel join our nonprofit work when they grow up. I am Rogera Toussaint-Michel, the daughter of Oscar Roger Murriel and I am thankful for him. Thank you, Daddy.