Nancy Metayer Brown leaves behind a legacy of outreach and compassion

In January 2024, a Muslim group ran into unexpected opposition when a hotel abruptly canceled its annual meeting days before the long-scheduled event was supposed to start.

Instead of gathering for prayer, learning and fellowship, the Marriott Coral Springs Hotel and Convention Center argued, the group had now caused “significant undesirable interest.” Much of that was stirred up by online opposition that branded attendees as, among other things, “Hamas sympathizers” and even terrorists. In the middle of it all, someone called in a bomb threat.

The South Florida Muslim Federation alleged the hotel acted not out of prudence, but Islamophobia. The Federation publicly protested, which stirred more outrage.

Through those tense days, Coral Springs Commissioner Nancy Metayer Bowen talked to both sides. Metayer Bowen challenged and confronted, asked tough questions and listened to the responses. Because she inserted herself into the center of conflict, a police detail was assigned to protect her.

The Federation filed a lawsuit later that year against the hotel, the city of Parkland and the Parkland Chamber of Commerce, alleging harassment, intimidation and coercion. Religious leaders ousted from the hotel remained impressed that Metayer Bowen, who herself was not Muslim, had risked her safety on their behalf.

“She felt the pain of that, of being told the week before the event you were no longer welcome, of being threatened,” said Corey Shearer, an organizer for Emgage, which targets Muslim voters.

Easton Harrison, a Lauderdale Lakes City Commissioner, described Metayer Bowen as “like family to me,” saying they shared a bond as two young Commissioners trying to make a difference.

“She always got along with everybody,” said Harrison, 30. “She really always came off as a center of gravity for the group. She was always the glue.”

A South Florida community has been reeling since Wednesday, when Coral Springs police conducted a welfare check on Metayer Bowen’s home. They found her deceased, the victim of what police have since called a shotgun blast. She was 38.

Stephen Bowen, her husband since 2022, is in custody and charged with murder.

“She was fearless,” Coral Springs City Commissioner Joshua Simmons said of Metayer Bowen, the city’s Vice Mayor. “She spoke up fiercely for the downtrodden. She was centered on equity, justice and change and sustainability in everything she did.”

“I personally am having a very hard time processing this,” added Simmons, who described the mood in recent days among those who knew Metayer Bowen as one of “sheer disbelief.”

Along with shock comes an urge to remember the legacy of passionate outreach Metayer Bowen has left behind, particularly among South Florida’s Haitian community.

Rep. Dotie Joseph, who represents North Miami, shared commonalities with Metayer Bowen. Joseph emigrated from Haiti in childhood, whereas Metayer Bowen is part of the first generation of her family to be born in the United States. Joseph remembers her friend organizing campaign phone banks and rallies, hosting movie screenings involving Haiti or the Dominican Republic, or working on environmental causes.

“She was such a joy,” Joseph said. “There are (politicians) who actually care about people and those who show up because they like the title. Everything she did was thoughtful — not ‘nice’ thoughtful, but well thought out and considerate.”

An environmental scientist with a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins, Metayer Bowen worked hard on climate awareness and similar causes. She worked not just in South Florida but in Haiti, helping Cap-Haitien Mayor Angie Bell overcome a sanitation crisis including clogged canals and stalled trash pickup in the streets, problems blamed in part on Bell’s predecessor.

Metayer Bowen promoted climate awareness both to prepare for catastrophic events, including storms, and afterward, said Santra Denis, the chief program officer of the anti-poverty Catalyst Miami and founder of Avanse Ansamn, which targets Haitian-American millennials.

Together, she and Metayer Bowen engaged high-traffic areas, such as lines outside popular Haitian bakeries, asking about readiness for storms, food supplies and more. They worked to expand digital literacy, especially during COVID, to help people navigate video visits with doctors through their smartphones.

When working on affordable housing efforts in Miami, Denis said, she often got a call from Metayer Bowen. “She would say, ‘What are you working on? Can I help? What can I bring?’” Denis said.

Marleine Bastien, a Miami-Dade County Commissioner, met Metayer Bowen through work on climate change.

“I realized she was a bright young leader,” Bastien said. “At that time, people thought climate work was so far away from daily living, when in fact they are the first ones when a disaster strikes who are under-resourced.”

She considered Metayer Bowen a “Haitian-American rising star,” and admired the way she kept commitments and close friendships.

Now, she said, “The Haitian community is in shock. People are calling radio stations crying. Organizations are looking to create safe spaces where mental health professionals can encourage those who suffer domestic violence in silence.”

This is the second recent death in the Metayer family. In December, Metayer Bowen’s brother, Donovan Metayer, died by suicide. He was 26 and had struggled with schizophrenia since surviving the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.

Now, Metayer Bowen’s community is grieving a spirited leader who could explain the science behind environmental issues and was also a good listener, a woman who loved music and dancing and had an easy laugh.

“She was incredibly smart,” said former Sen. Dwight Bullard, the Executive Director for Florida Rising, which seeks to empower marginalized communities. Metayer Bowen had worked as the climate justice manager for a previous branch of the organization called Florida New Majority. “Her résumé was stellar. She was almost too good to be true,” Bullard added.

He added a footnote: Any story about Metayer Bowen, Bullard said, should note that while she was justifiably proud of her Johns Hopkins degree, her undergraduate time at Florida A&M had a piece of her heart. “She was super proud of that, and often credited FAMU for really laying the groundwork for what she became,” he said.

In her absence, that lawsuit against the Marriott Coral Springs Hotel over the Muslim event cancellation in 2024 remains ongoing.

Asked for any closing comments about the woman for whom so many are grieving today, Harrison said, “I want people to know that Nancy was a force to be reckoned with. She will be very much missed.”

“Her light will not be dimmed,” Shearer added. “People will pick up her causes.”

A candlelight vigil starts Friday evening at 7 and runs until 8:30 p.m. at Coral Springs City Hall, 9500 W Sample Road, Coral Springs. Attendees are encouraged to bring white candles and to wear orange, the color commemorating victims of gun violence.