CITY CLUB of TACOMA
Open Minds Embracing the Future

Moderator:

Joy Stanford

Joy is an educator and housing advocate. She currently works for Shared Housing Services as a Community Outreach Specialist, helping Pierce county residents avoid housing instability and she is a co-founder and co-chair of the Gig Harbor-Key Peninsula Homeless Coalition.

Joy is the Vice-Chair of the Emerge Washington Board of Directors, Washington Paramount Duty board member, Gig Harbor League of Women Voters member, Peninsula School District Equity and Diversity member, Peninsula School District Community Truancy Board member, and a City Club of Tacoma board member.

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Panelists:

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Sharonne Navas

Equity in Education Coalition

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The first American born child of immigrant parents from Guatemala and El Salvador, Sharonne understands, and values, the complexity of being multi-lingual and multi-cultural in America.  A native of New York City, Sharonne moved to the Seattle area in 2009.

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Past professions include being a community organizer with Stand for Children, Executive Director of Para Los Niños, Assistant Director of Development for NARAL Pro-Choice America, Deputy Executive Director for Ayuda, Inc., and Development Coordinator for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

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In 2010, she was appointed as Commissioner for the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

In 2016, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of Green River Community College.

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Carrie Basas

Director of the Governor's Office of the Education Ombuds

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Carrie is a former disability and civil rights law professor with a JD from Harvard Law School and a MEd in Education Leadership, Policy, and Organizations from the University of Washington. She grew up with disabilities and experienced segregated special education.  She is the mother of a rising 6th grader in Seattle Public Schools.

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Dawn Bennett

Co-Founder of the Multicultural Education Rights Alliance (McERA)

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As a basketball player and coach, gang prevention specialist, and caseworker for the City of Seattle and the Liaison for African American families for Seattle Public Schools, Dawn has worked to support those who might otherwise fall through the education gaps.

She also currently serves on several boards including Washington’s Paramount Duty, the UW School of Social Work Communities in Action Initiative, the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Advisory Group, and is the Board Chair of the African American Leadership Forum. She has also, just recently graduated from the Emerge WA. Gov. Gregoire 2019 class, where she trained to run for office. Most recently, Dawn Bennett has become a new board member of the Rainier Valley Food Bank in south Seattle, in 2020.

Dawn has been awarded the Federal

Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Director Community Leadership Award (2009), Urban Native Education Alliance & Seattle Clear Sky Native Youth Council,

Community Engagement Award (2013), Mercer Island Pathfinder Award (2018), and 100 Leading Ladies of Color Award (2019).

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Claire Wilson

State Senator

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Vice-Chair of the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee. She also serves on the Transportation Committee and the Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee.

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Jen Cole

Program Director

PTI Parent Training and Information Center

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She is mother to 10-year-old Gabriel who was born with a rare genetic condition and is currently receiving special education and Developmental Disability Administration (DDA) services. As a bi-racial immigrant to the United States, Jen identifies as a family leader and serves on various local, county, and state-level councils and committees that seek to address educational opportunity gaps for underserved groups that intersect with disability. As a parent, Jen has testified on legislation that seek to advance opportunities for students and families on issues related to school funding, the provision of special education services, language access, and comprehensive sexual health education. She serves on the Washington State PTA Resolution Committee and on the board for the Washington State Coalition for Language Access (WASCLA).

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