Seattle Works Board of Directors

The Board of Directors comprises individual volunteers from the community who help steward the overall health of the organization. They guide our mission and strategy, oversee the health and ethics of the organization, and ensure that Seattle Works has the resources (finances, staff, brand, etc.) it needs to fulfill its mission, and prioritizes equity and inclusion in all that they do. Additionally, Seattle Works board members support our programs: they attend sessions, bring their personal community with them, provide input and feedback on topics covered, and engage in authentic relationship building.

2022 Board of Directors
 

Amber Rose Jimenez (she/her), Treasurer, Race Forward for the Goverment Alliance on Race and Equity

Amber Rose is a creative strategist and artist living in Seattle, Washington. Amber Rose serves as a consultant at Race Forward for the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE). Her passions for civic engagement, social impact, and the arts first converged while working at the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture where she advised on racial equity in cultural investments, community engagement, and public art. Previously, she managed community program operations at Seattle Foundation and helped to launch the Vibrant Democracy Initiative in partnership with King County Elections. Born and raised in Los Angeles to working class parents, Amber Rose is inspired by the power, leadership and creativity of the Latinx community. She studied philosophy and political science at Seattle Pacific University.

Alina Santillan (he/him), Seattle Arts & Culture for Anti-Racism

Alina is the Director of Seattle Arts & Culture for Anti-Racism, a coalition of arts and culture organizations who are working to engage in intersectional, anti-racism work. He serves as a Commissioner for the City of Seattle’s Community Police Commission, whose mission is to listen to, amplify, and build common ground among communities affected by policing in Seattle, championing policing practices centered in justice and equity. Alina is a member of the King County Equity Cabinet and King County's Racism Is A Public Health Crisis Committee. He works as an independent anti-racism consultant with brilliant women of color who offer equitable and community-focused fundraising strategies.

Kendra Hale (she/her), Board Co-Chairperson, Malikah

Kendra is an outreach, communications, healing justice, and trauma-informed knowledge-seeker. A graduate from Seattle University with a BA in Public Affairs- Nonprofit/Public Policy Pathway, she has an unwavering commitment to community engagement and empowering communities of color through the nonprofit sector and beyond. She is currently a Chapter Lead-Group Facilitator for the grassroots organization Malikah which centers women of color and fosters four pillars of curriculum: organizing 101, self-defense, healing justice, and financial literacy. Kendra is fiercely committed to expanding mental and emotional health literacy, disrupting oppressive pathways of violence, and elevating the collective power of BIPOC. Kendra believes in the transformative power of collective action and impact. She had the opportunity to explore her anti-racist journey and decolonization in the nonprofit sector with Seattle Work’s Agents of Change cohort in Fall 2020 and she’s excited to have the opportunity to be on The Seattle Works Board!   

Helen Potter (she/her), King County Parks

Helen is a queer Taiwanese-American woman raised between Taipei & Seattle. She was born on & resides on Duwamish Land. She is a product of the public school system, & attended Garfield High School & the University of Washington. Helen has explored many avenues in her career — from working in fashion merchandising & eCommerce, to marketing & social media in the cannabis industry — until finding her way to public service. She currently works as a Project Manager for King County Parks, managing the community partnerships & promotion of the Trailhead Direct program, working on the outreach & engagement efforts for other county projects, & social media & storytelling for the division. Challenging outdated, unequal, & deeply entrenched systems & ideas to reimagine them collaboratively with anti-racist, abolitionist folks of color is where she feels the most energized & purposeful. Helen challenges the lie of so-called “public lands” & the inherent whiteness of the conservation space in her work each day, & look forward to similarly decolonizing the nonprofit space & building a new, more supportive & equal board model with Seattle Works. In her free time she loves to lay up with her cat Evie, cook & eat food of non-European origin, & read her face off.

Clara Olivo (she/her/ella), The Diasporic Connection

Clara is a queer, neurodivergent Afro-Salvadoreña living in diaspora. Born and raised in South Central L.A to Salvadorean immigrants, Clara‘s roots tell a deep story. A chef by trade and inspired by her mami, Clara took her love of the kitchen into the nonprofit sector in 2007. From there, she combined her passion for food with her love of community building. For 10 years, she worked in nutrition education, urban agriculture and hunger relief. Her work in the nonprofit sector has evolved to focus on healing the harm that comes from surviving PWIs and calling for accountability. By sharing her lived-experience and analysis of oppressive systems, she hopes to challenge and transform the nonprofit world. Clara lives in West Seattle with her partner, doggy and an ever-fluctuating number of plants.

Natalie Herrera (she/her), Northwest Center 

With more than six years of experience designing and strategizing engagement across various customer touchpoints and journeys, Natalie plans to work towards a master's in science in Human-Centered Design and Engineering to continue developing inclusive models and design processes. Natalie leads brand strategy and design at Northwest Center and provides UX design services through her freelance work that focuses on digital accessibility and experiences for historically marginalized and underrepresented users.  As a first-generation American and college graduate, Natalie developed her passion and work in equity and inclusion by navigating experiences new to her family while confronting socio-economic and cultural barriers. Her work has focused on racism and discrimination in organizational cultures, pay systems, policies/practices, and inaccessible service and digital design. Natalie Co-Chairs Northwest Center’s Equity Committee with the company’s Chief People Officer, leading and mentoring a team of over 50 members in DEI initiatives, education, and organizational change for a 1,000+ employee organization across multiple divisions. Passionate about the inclusive process, sustainable outcomes, social enterprise models, she works at the intersection of for-profit businesses and socially responsible practices leading design through equitable and inclusive frameworks. She earned BAs in Human Resource Management and Marketing from the University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business.

Aaron Oravillo (he/they), Board Co-Chairperson, Nia Tero

Aaron was raised between Seattle and the Bay Area in California. He is currently working at Nia Tero, a nonprofit with the mission of “Securing Indigenous guardianship of vital ecosystems.” Aaron is passionate about community organizations that center immigration, gender, race & equity, and environmental justice. He is passionate about the rights of the homeless community and is committed to the mission of assisting Indigenous communities in attaining and maintaining sovereignty over their lands. 

Lydia Simpson (she/her), Secretary

Lydia was born and raised in Seattle, WA, where she attended Nathan Hale High School. She received her BA in Psychology and Women & Gender Studies from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Lydia is passionate about building community relationships and the intersections of mental health and systems change. Lydia also enjoys volunteering, being with her family, baking, and spending time outside.