From top to bottom, left to right: Sophia Aragon, Debadutta Dash, Jeannie Lee, Faaluaina (Lua) Pritchard, and Albert Shen
Local community leaders Sophia Aragon, Debadutta Dash, Jeannie Lee, Faaluaina (Lua) Pritchard, and Albert Shen were appointed (and reappointed, in Pritchard’s case) as commissioners to the Washington State Commission on Asian and Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) by Gov. Chris Gregoire for three-year terms.
Aragon is the senior governmental affairs advisor for the Washington State Nurses Association. She was previously the legislative and policy manager for the Community and Family Health Division at the Department of Health.
Dash was a board member of the Asian Counseling and Referral Service and is the co-chair of the Washington State and India Trade Relations Action Committee.
Lee is the executive director of the Korean American Grocers Association and a member of the Sharing Love Foundation, the Federal Way Korean American Association, and an organizer of the Hanwoori Festival.
Pritchard formerly served as the executive director of the Korean Women’s Association. She also serves as chair to the Pierce County Asian Pacific Island Coalition.
Shen is the current Board Chair for the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority and board president of the Northwest Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans. ♦