Liz is the Director of Finance and Administration for School’s Out Washington. In this role she manages SOWA’s finance and accounting teams and provides leadership for the organization in financial forecasting, strategy, and processes. Get to know Liz better and learn more about what brought her to the SOWA team.
Where are you from? I grew up in the Yakima Valley in central Washington. I attended college at the University of Washington and have remained in Seattle ever since.
Mehateme Emiru joined SOWA in March as our first Human Resources Generalist. Mehateme manages and performs all aspects of the organization's human resources management which includes, the development and implementation of HR policy and procedure, workforce planning, talent acquisition and retention, employee relation, payroll and benefit management, HRIS, and training and performance management based on best practices to advance SOWA's mission and vision. Get to know Mehateme better and learn more about what brought him to the SOWA team.
When asked what was unique about Washington Asian Pacific Islander Community Services (WAPI), Executive Director Aileen De Leon immediately named the organization’s focus on serving marginalized communities. They hire from within the community to promote authentic relationship building with youth, and to provide leadership opportunities for people who historically haven’t had access to positions of power. This allows WAPI to be recognized as a leader in their field. Their staff reflect the community they serve-- and not just racially or ethnically, but also street life experience. As Aileen says, “it’s one thing to teach hip hop, but it’s another to live it.”
WAPI uses hip hop music production as a vehicle to prevent substance use amongst API youth, and all under-served youth.
The 2019 legislative session ended on April 28 with a lot accomplished for the state and final operating, capital, and transportation budgets. Among those were some great wins for youth and expanded learning providers. We also made great strides on some hard fought battles and will press on in session 2020 – only nine short months away!
Big thanks to the Washington Expanded Learning Opportunities Network, our partners, and everyone that sent emails and made calls to legislators.
Sebastian joined SOWA in November of last year as our newest King County Youth Development Program Quality Coach. He has worked in school-age programs and the youth development field for almost 20 years! Sebastian has been a valued trainer, part-time coach, and external assessor with SOWA, and we are so excited to have him as a full-time member of our team. Get to know Sebastian better and learn more about what brought him to the SOWA team.
