Accountability in Action at The Tamalpais Marin

Sometimes culture shows up in small, practical ways. At The Tamalpais Marin, it showed up with gloves, trash bags, and a shared sense of responsibility.

After neighbors raised concerns about discarded masks, gloves, and litter around the building, members of the community’s Culture Club took initiative. Rather than waiting for a directive, seven team members used half of their scheduled Culture Club meeting to step outside and clean the streets around them. Each person filled a full trash bag, a visible and meaningful response rooted in Accountability, one of Sequoia Living’s core values.

The seven participants are part of a larger Culture Club of 11 team members. Their decision to act reflects the spirit behind the ACT values, Accountability, Caring, and Teamwork, that guide culture across Sequoia Living.

Team members shared that they enjoyed the experience and felt proud of helping keep the neighborhood clean and orderly. Neighbors noticed, too, expressing appreciation and gratitude for the effort. What began as a response to feedback became a moment of connection between the community and the surrounding neighborhood.

The cleanup marked the first of many planned efforts. The Culture Club intends to continue clean-ups quarterly, with future invitations extended to additional team members and managers. It is a simple practice with lasting impact.

Moments like this are part of a larger cultural journey underway at Sequoia Living. Over the past several years, the organization has invested deeply in building a people-centered culture shaped by staff voices and lived values.

That work was recently recognized when Sequoia Living was named the winner of the HR Icons Awards Best Workplace Culture Award at the 2025 HR Tech Conference in Las Vegas. The award honors organizations advancing the future of work through innovation, leadership, and people-focused practices.

Six categories were introduced this year, with Best Workplace Culture highlighting Sequoia Living’s commitment to Accountability, Caring, and Teamwork, and to supporting team members so they can, in turn, support others.

Accepting the award, Chief People Officer Martha Atwood reflected on the journey, noting that culture grows when people feel safe, seen, and empowered to contribute.

The foundation for this work was laid during the early days of the pandemic. As shared by CEO and President Sara McVey on Bridge the Gap: The Senior Living Podcast. What started as a way to stay connected evolved into a new way of working together.

Through partnerships with Gallup and later Drive, Sequoia Living invited team members across all roles to define the values they wanted to live by. With 91 percent participation, three clear values emerged: Accountability, Caring, and Teamwork. These are not abstract ideals. They are practiced daily through team-member-led Culture Clubs across Sequoia Living’s Bay Area communities for retirement and Community Services teams.

Alongside these values came a shared mindset, Never Stop Growing, inspired by the resilience and interconnected roots of the Sequoia tree. It reflects a commitment to continuous improvement, learning, and evolving together.

The Tamalpais Marin clean-up is one example of how culture shows up on the ground. Accountability was not a slogan that day; it was action. A few bags of trash, a cleaner street, and a stronger connection to neighbors became a reminder that meaningful culture is built through everyday choices.

This was the first clean-up, not the last. And like many of the strongest roots at Sequoia Living, it started with people who cared enough to act. For more on the latest efforts of our communities, residents, and team members, visit: sequoialiving.org/stories