The 6th Pillar Fund
There are spaces you walk into and immediately know you belong.
And there are spaces where you don’t.
A named fund founded in 2024 by GSBA members Carol and Scott Markley, 6th Pillar focuses on supporting underrepresented folxs in the trades, with particular interest in the automotive industry. 6th Pillar is about opening access to LGBTQ+ and allied folx in spaces that have historically overlooked them, aka the trades.
Where It All Started
Scott didn’t plan on a career in automotive.
He needed a job, stumbled upon one at the old Texaco station near the airport, and started pumping gas. From there, he gave it one of the best “fake it till you make it” moments we’ve seen. Scott moved into fixing tires, then working on cars, eventually working his way into a dealership. Over time he learned the ins and outs of the industry, became a service advisor, then an award-winning service manager, turning him into an industry expert with over 30 years of experience.
Eventually, he talked his way into a dealership role in the early ‘90s. He bought his own tools, learned on the job, failed a few times, and kept going. What kept him in it wasn’t just the work. It was the people. The pace of it. The fact that no two days looked the same.
Today, he runs his own consulting company, Northwest Process Solutions. His work takes him across the country, training service technicians, advisors, and managers, sometimes in rooms of hundreds.
“Business isn’t about doing things. It’s about unlocking the potential in people.”
Meeting GSBA
Carol first met Ilona in the banking world, while they both worked for Wells Fargo, long before GSBA was part of the picture. They were friends for a few years before Ilona stepped into her role as GSBA’s Administration Manager, quickly becoming deeply involved in the organization.
As Ilona started showing up to more GSBA events, she’d often bring Carol along, especially when Sussie couldn’t make it. What started as tagging along turned into something more consistent.
Street fairs, outreach, luncheon events. Standing side by side, meeting people, getting to know the community in real time.
Over time, it stopped feeling like something Carol was being brought into and started feeling like something she belonged to.
Scott came into GSBA through his connection with his wife Carol, and it shifted something for him too.
“I came from a pretty conservative background,” he shared. “I wasn’t taught to hate, but I didn’t understand.”
It was through hearing scholars’ stories that their perspectives broadened.
“There’s a significant amount of people out there that aren’t being heard. If I’m not using my position to forward those voices, shame on me.”
Now, as someone who often finds himself in rooms of power within the industry, he sees that as part of his role. To speak up, even when others might not. To keep uplifting LGBTQ+ voices, even when it feels like he’s speaking into an echo chamber.
The Industry They Know
After 30+ years in the trades, one thing became clear to Scott: the trade is dying.
But the root of the issue isn’t talent. It’s access.
The industry hasn’t done a good job engaging the full workforce. Women, LGBTQ+ folxs, and people of color remain underrepresented, not because they can’t do the work, but because they haven’t been consistently invited in.
“Anybody can do it,” Scott says. “And everybody needs to know they can do it.” Carol adds, “If you don’t see any women, no racial diversity, you start to wonder what that business is really about. Who it’s built for. Who it’s leaving out.”
And if that doesn’t change, the industry runs out of people.
This isn’t theoretical. It’s already happening. And it’s why opening the door wider isn’t optional anymore.
The 6th Pillar
The name comes from Scott’s work in workforce development.
While building out training focused on employee retention, he and collaborators identified five core pillars that support the employee lifecycle. But one question changed the direction of that work.
What about diversity, equity, and inclusion?
That missing piece became the 6th Pillar.
Not something separate from the work, but something the industry has to build into it if it wants to survive.
“We’re losing the employee war. If we’re not engaging the full workforce, we’re going to run out of people.”
Why This Fund
Carol had been involved with GSBA long enough to understand the impact of the GSBA Scholarship & Education Fund. But sitting in the room with scholars, it landed differently.
Ilona started a fund of her own and inspired them to start their own. Some time passed, their business found success, and they felt the time to give back to GSBA was now.
The “final straw” was at a luncheon, hearing a scholar open up about the lack of support they had. They didn’t have a supportive family for their educational career, and hearing their lived experiences really moved the Markleys.
There’s a shift that happens in the moment where community becomes family. Where support and connection intersect into what feels like home. It was that exact moment Carol chose to show up for GSBA scholars as chosen family.
Looking Ahead
The 6th Pillar Fund is focused on creating access.
Access to careers in the trades for folxs who may not have otherwise seen themselves there. Access to opportunity in an industry that needs to evolve.
Scott continues to push that conversation in the rooms he’s in, even when it’s uncomfortable.
“I like to make people uncomfortable,” he says. “That’s where change happens.”
For Carol, it comes back to intention. Where you spend your money, who you support, and what it means to invest in community.
6th Pillar has just named its second recipient, and the Markleys are beyond eager to welcome their newest family member.
Carol, Ilona, and Sussie pictured over the years.
Named scholarship funds are one of the ways GSBA’s Scholarship & Education Fund continues to grow with intention. They allow donors to invest in the futures they care about most, while helping ensure long-term support for LGBTQ+ and allied scholars.
We are incredibly grateful for individuals like Carol and Scott Markley who choose to invest in the rising leaders of our future.
If a named fund is something you would like to explore, email Stacy.
by Cortney Gosset, GSBA Events & Communications Specialist
