Honoring our women mentors

Women of Color Empowered (WOC) is a nonproft organization started by Northwest Asian Weekly in 1996. This year WOC’s  theme is “Amazing Women Mentors,” where women across Seattle are being honored as mentors. There is a luncheon honoring the women mentors on Friday, Sept. 17 at China Harbor Restaurant. Tickets can be purchased by calling 206-223-0623 or emailing rsvp@nwasianweekly.com. Tickets are $35 before Sept. 15, $45 after Sept. 15 and walk-ins are $50. Students do receive a discount with student ID.

Luz Iniguez

Luz Iniguez first started her mentoring at Central Washington University (CWU) while pursuing her Bachelors degree in Sociology.

She was part of College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at CWU in 2003. She has been part of CAMP ever since. She began working at University of Washington’s (UW) CAMP in March 2011 as the academic advisor and then became director in May 2012.

Her job as director of CAMP entails helping low-income students from migrant backgrounds to complete their freshman year and continue on at UW. Currently the CAMP program at UW is ranked number one in the nation due to the retention of students by Iniguez and her staff to ensure students go on to graduate.

When Iniguez is not mentoring she enjoys spending time with her daughter Celeste, husband Simon, friends and family.

Deborah Guerrero

Deborah Guerrero is a social worker at Muckleshoot Child and Family Services in Auburn, WA. Guerrero serves on the board of directors for multiple Native American organizations, is an activist, and a community organizer. She is passionate about traditional Indigenous healing and is active in the Native American Church. Guerrero has been a singer/drummer in her prayer community since 1996. She has three grown children and now has become a grandmother.

Deborah Lee

Deborah Lee has been working for Nisqually Tribe Head Start program for the past 10 years and is currently program director. Recently, Lee was appointed for a two-year term as the National Representative of the World Forum Foundation for the US due to her strong advocacy for children and youth. Lee’s activism helped her receive a gubernatorial appointment as Commissioner of the Washington State Human Rights Commission which she has held for four terms. Before being appointed, Lee served as chair of the Seattle Civil Rights Commission. She is co-founder and board president of the Washington Indian Civil Rights Commission. Lee lives in Olympia with her husband and two college-age children.

Stephanie Bowman

Stephanie Bowman is currently the co-president of Port of Seattle Commission. She was first appointed in April 2014 and elected for a four-year term in Nov. 2014. She has an MBA in Executive Leadership and over 18 years in public policy experience. She currently serves as the executive director of Washington ABC, a statewide non-profit organization that promotes policies and programs to help economically disadvantaged communities. Bowman has served on the boards of Rainier Valley Food Bank and Plymouth Housing Group. She resides in Beacon Hilll and is an avid windsurfer.

Lourdes Salazar

Lourdes Salazar is currently working as the Volunteer Program Coordinator, Probation Division, for the City of Bellevue. She is also the president of the Eastside Latino Leadership Forum. Recently she was appointed by the King County Council to the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight, Citizen’s Committee. Salazar continues her work in community leadership development by working with organizations such as the Latino Community Fund, Jubilee Reach, and other local organizations and schools. In the past, Salazar was co-founder of Mujeres NW.

Patricia Lally

Patricia Lally is currently the director of the City of Seattle Office for Civil Rights. Her responsibilities include leading race and social justice initiatives and enforcing anti-discrimination laws. She has also worked as an Assistant United States Attorney and as an associate at Perkins Coie. In 2012, Lally became an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law. She has served as a mentor for law students at University of Washington and Seattle University. She has a long history of working with community organizations such as Casa Latina, El Centro De La Raza, and civil rights coalitions.

Carole Carmichael

Carole Carmichael has enjoyed a long journalism career starting off getting her bachelor’s degree in English at New York University. She was business reporter for the Chicago Tribune and then she became business editor and executive management assistant to the Publisher of Philadelphia Newspaper, Inc. Carmichael joined the Seattle Times in 1991 as Assistant Managing Editor/Features and worked with a staff of 75, producing weekly print publications, which received a high readership. In 2011 she was appointed to Assistant Managing Editor/Community Engagement.

Isabelle Gonn

Isabelle Gonn has been working for Nordstrom’s for the past 20 years and is an Administrative Manager and Executive Assistant to Nordstrom’s Executive Vice President. She also spends a lot of her time volunteering and is currently the director of the Chinese Girls Drill Team, which she has been involved with for over 30 years, first being part of the drill team, then volunteering, and becoming director. The Chinese Girls Drill Team helps girls form a sense of community and also respect for their Chinese heritage. There are usually 40-60 girls that join the team and most stay on for about five years. Gonn also volunteers at the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County.

Kirstan Arestad

Kirstan Arestad is currently the Director of the Seattle City Council’s Central Staff. Arestad manages a team of people who help council members make informed decisions by gathering data and information for them. Arestad recently served as Deputy Policy Director for Governor Jay Inslee where she directed a team of policy advisors. She also served as senior budget advisor for former Governor Christine Gregoire and senior fiscal analyst for the State Senate. She enjoys gardening, cooking, reading and spending time with her family.

Dian Ferguson

Dian Ferguson is the Interim Executive  Director of the Central Area Senior Center. Her career includes working as the executive director of several non-profits, including City of Seattle SCAN Public Access TV Channels 77 and 23, as former chief executive officer of Operational Emergency Center and others. Ferguson is diehard comic book and anything sci-fi  fan. She is currently writing a new series of superhero comic book characters.

Hazel Cameron

Hazel Cameron is Executive Director of 4C Coalition. She has 20 years of experience in social services. She is chair of Seattle Cares Mentoring Movement and chair of Washington State Mentors Provider Council among other positions held in other organizations. She is experienced in program and organizational development and has worked on a project to make a collaboration between mentoring and faith-based organizations. Cameron is an advocate to increase awareness of mentoring programs and needs.

Bonnie Glenn

Bonnie Glenn is a lawyer and currently serves as a Director for the Juvenile Justice & Rehabilitation Administration. She oversees a multi-million dollar budget and staff throughout the state of Washington. As the director she is oversees all juvenile group homes, juvenile parole offices and staff in the State of Washington for JJRA. In the past, she has served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of DSHS, Deputy Chief of Staff of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and a Lead Attorney at the Seattle City Attorney’s Office.  Currently, she serves as Adjunct Faculty at Seattle University School of Law and the Criminal Justice Department and is part of the Seattle Police Department Firearms Review Board.

Grace Kim

Grace Kim, a founding principal of Schemata Workshop, has been practicing architecture for almost two decades. She is a consensus builder, compassionate listener, and sensitive designer, helping her clients and project stakeholders envision how a project will take life. She pays close attention to the present and future needs of her clients, believes in collaboration, and is able to bring together disparate parties and initiate a synergy that produces innovative results.

Estela Ortega

Estela Ortega is the executive director of El Centro de la Raza, a Seattle-based civil rights group that serves over 18,600 people annually. Ortega is involved in coalition building, strategic development and political advocacy while at El Centro de la Raza. She also serves on multiple boards and committees in the areas of transportation, civil rights, education, economic development, and the environment. She has received numerous awards during her career with the latest being the 2013 Outstanding Local Achievement Award by the Hispanic Elected Local Officials and the National League of Cities.

Regina Glenn

Regina Glenn has mentored 14 interns from 7 different countries in the past 18 months through her work at the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (SMCC). As Vice President at SMCC Glenn has increased the membership of small and multicultural business to over 20 percent in the past 15 months. Glenn is also the president and CEO of Pacific Communications Consultants, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in communications and public outreach.  Through her work as a diversity manager on large city and state contracts around the Puget Sound Region, she has mentored small and women-owned businesses for more than 20 years.

Lillian Hayashi

Lillian Hayashi is an elder care and service advocate and a community volunteer. Her history and commitment to the elderly, as well as her background in healthcare is extensive. She has worked with Nikkei Concerns as administrator of community services, Seattle Keiro, AARP, and countless other community programs. She currently volunteers for the Alzheimer’s Association of Western and Central Washington. She has been married to S. Roy Hayashi for 52 years. (end)