Becca Vargo Daggett
(MS-STEP ‘04) passed away on October 17th, 2015. Read the full
obituary below.
Becca Vargo Daggett was happiest when she felt she was making
a difference, and she wasn’t shy about getting involved.
“She’d be the one in the room to notice the person standing
in the corner who looked worried, or the child who wasn’t playing,” said
husband Paul Daggett. “She’d draw them out and find out what they needed.”
As an activist and researcher, she applied that same sense of
concern to a long list of Twin Cities community groups and organizations.
Daggett, of St. Louis Park, died peacefully on Oct. 17 after a long illness.
She was 43.
Daggett grew up in Mound. She spent her teen years with her
family near Heidelberg, Germany, then studied philosophy and social
anthropology at the University of Texas, Austin, and the University of
Minnesota. She earned a master’s degree in public policy at the Humphrey
Institute, where her faculty adviser was former U President Ken Keller.
David Morris, a co-founder of the Institute for Local
Self-Reliance (ILSR) and director of its Public Good Initiative, hired Daggett
fresh out of the U in 2003. Initially, she was charged with working on energy
issues, but in 2005 Minneapolis issued a request for proposals to develop a
privately owned wireless network. Morris said Daggett was concerned that the
city had decided to embrace private ownership without analysis or public
hearings, and she plunged into the issue.
“Becca was extraordinary,” said Morris. “She was dogged,
spirited, dedicated and unafraid of taking on the unknown. She had a … keen
sense of right and wrong and an innate ability to empathize with those on the
outside.”
Daggett believed public ownership was a better option for the
city and became an advocate for municipal networks, helping launch ILSR’s
Municipal Broadband initiative, which has gained international recognition and
influence.
“Becca faced significant challenges in her quest to try to
change Minneapolis’ mind,” said Morris. “She had to educate people about a
complex and intimidating technology. She had to assure people that public
ownership was possible and profitable. And she had to do this in the face of
criticism that often bordered on outright condescension from corporate representatives
and city officials who dismissed her because of her youth, and possibly her
gender. She never lost her poise or wavered in her determination.”
Daggett was also a world-class multitasker. She was a member
of the Seward Neighborhood Association, was part of the first caucus to elect
Keith Ellison and was a supporter of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges. She was an
early booster of MinnPost, a nonprofit news organization, and City Council
Member Cam Gordon asked her to serve on the city’s Capital Long-Range
Improvement Committee (CLIC,) which reviews capital budget requests for the
city.
Daggett also believed that people needed to vote with their
pocketbook, so in 2007 she started training to become a financial adviser with
a focus on helping people make socially conscious investments. Until 2011 she
was a financial planner for UBS.
In the midst of embarking on her new career, Daggett embraced
a new challenge at home. Paul’s parents both had Alzheimer’s, but were living
separately in the same facility in Phoenix. So in 2009, Paul and Becca moved
into a larger house with room for his parents so they could live out their
final years together. With a toddler at home, Becca was a full-time caregiver
until they died.
The experience inspired Daggett to advocate for and promote
alternate forms of caring for seniors at home. She lent her support to a free
Minnesota information service called Senior LinkAge Line by writing essays
about her experience as a caregiver.
“She was happiest advocating for things that would change
people’s lives for the better,” said Paul. “She was a crusader.”
In addition to her husband and son, Max, Daggett is survived
by her mother, Cynthia Vargo, sister Abbey and two nephews.
A private family service has been held.
