As a lawyer, regulator, and former compliance consultant, Ali has extensive experience working in bank regulation and the financial services industry. Ali currently works at the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) in the role of Director of Regulatory and Legal Affairs providing legal assistance and advice relating to supervision and regulation of financial institutions in the State of Washington. Ali serves as the lead contact for the DFI Center for FinTech Information.
Ali is an adjunct professor at the Seattle University School of Law. She has also presented at several continuing legal education seminars and has taught at professional trust schools, including the CSBS Trust Examination School. Ali received both her B.A. in Business Administration and JD from Seattle University. She is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.
Miguel is a Seattle native and immigration lawyer. He has a diverse practice representing individuals and companies in various stages of the immigrant and nonimmigrant process. His practice includes family-based petitions, removal defense, naturalization, immigrant, and nonimmigrant visas. He has presented CLEs on removal defense and immigration fundamentals and has taught as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Washington School of Law.
Wendy is an Immigration Attorney, practicing in Walla Walla, Washington. Prior to opening her practice, she established and directed an immigration clinic at World Relief, a refugee resettlement agency in Spokane. Wendy completed undergraduate degrees in Nursing, Social Work and an MA in Counseling Psychology from Walla Walla University. Following careers in those fields, she received her J.D. from Gonzaga University. She is a founding member of the Walla Walla Immigrant Rights Coalition and serves on non-profit boards focusing on vulnerable women and youth. In her leisure, Wendy loves skiing, biking and water sports, preferably with children and grandchildren.
Andrew is a policy analyst for the King County Council where he conducts research and analysis on a broad range of public policy matters. Prior to public service, Andrew was a management consultant in the health and life sciences industry. Andrew completed his graduate studies at the University of Michigan and his undergrad at Cornell University.
Andrew grew up in New York City after immigrating from Korea at a young age. He also lived in Michigan for many years before settling in the Pacific Northwest.
Francis Adewale is one of the attorneys that helped establish Spokane Community Court. Francis commitment to community lawyering is epitomized by his work on several community based board and activities in Eastern Washington. He has served as chair of Refugee Connections Spokane, co-chair of Spokane Homeless Coalition, Spokane County Regional Law & Justice Council’s Racial Equity Disparity Committee, member/trustee of Spokane County Bar Association and the Volunteer Lawyers Program. He is current chair of Access to Justice Board and member of Washington State Supreme Court’s Interpreters Commission and Board member of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP). He has been founding member of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council having been reappointed thrice by Governor Jay Inslee. Francis is the elected WSBA 5th District Governor for Eastern Washington.
Francis is a distinguished H. George Frederickson Honors Graduate of Eastern Washington University and adjunct faculty at Whitworth University. Francis was admitted to the Washington State Bar in June 2000 and has since practice as assistant public defender for the City of Spokane. A Fellow of Washington State Bar Association Leadership Institute (WLI) and ATJ Equal Justice Leadership Academy. He is also a recipient of City of Spokane Human Rights Award, Washington Criminal Defense Lawyers’ President Award and Spokane County Bar Association Smithmoore P. Myers Professionalism Award. Francis, along with other team members of Spokane Community Court are recipient of 2018 WSBA Apex Award. He is the 2021 recipient of the Washington Defenders Association’s President Award.
Kamau Chege is the Executive Director of the Washington Community Alliance, a statewide coalition of dozens of organizations of color working to secure a truly multiracial democracy in Washington state. He is currently a litigant in a national lawsuit to defend the constitutionality of DACA that is on track to be heard by the Supreme Court. Kamau got his start in organizing through our state's immigrant youth movement, co-founding the Washington Dream Coalition. In 2014, he helped lead the effort to pass the Washington State Dream Act. Kamau is a graduate of Stadium High School and Whitworth University. He serves on the board of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, WinWin Network, and Balance Our Tax Code.
Ariel Dos Santos was born in Brazil and moved to Seattle at the age of 11. As an immigrant, he is deeply passionate about the cause. He is currently the SVP of Product and Design at Redfin. Prior to that, Ariel has spent time at Peloton, Amazon and Microsoft working in product and technology roles. He got his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Tufts University and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Taylor, and their three kids.
Liz is most recently retired as Executive Director of Tacoma Community House, a nonprofit which serves immigrants and refugees in the South Sound. Previously, she served in several positions at the Dept. of Social and Health Services, first as the state Refugee Coordinator and Director and last as Deputy Secretary. She has served on a number of boards, including the Board of Trustees for Tacoma Community College and Pioneer Human Services. She is a long time member of the Japanese American Citizens League and serves on the board of the Puyallup Valley Chapter. She is the daughter of a Japanese immigrant mother and an Air Force officer father. She graduated from Washington State University with a degree in social work. Liz is married, with two adult children and one grandson, who is the joy of their lives.
Nushina Mir is a Senior Program Officer for Measurement, Learning, and Evaluation at the Bill and Melinda Gates. In this role, Nushina oversees the development of measurement and evaluation frameworks at the strategy, portfolio and investment levels and manages large scale, multi-country evaluations and research projects. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, Nushina was an evaluation officer at the Lumina Foundation for Education where she designed and managed evaluations of projects that focused on increasing the college access and success of low-income, first-generation students, and students of color. Prior to the Lumina Foundation, she was an assistant professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore and a research associate at University of Pennsylvania, where she worked extensively on issues related to HIV prevention and health equity among low-income, minority communities. Nushina has lived experience as an immigrant and a track record of supporting organizations that protect the rights of immigrants. Before relocating to the United States, Nushina worked for almost five years in India with underserved communities to increase their access to health and education programs. She received her PhD from the School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania.
Fernando is currently the Director of the High School Equivalency Program at Columbia Basin College. Fernando moved to the U.S. at the age of 9 from a remote village in Mexico, and grew up in Whatcom County, Washington. He graduated from Ferndale High School, and completed his graduate studies at the Evergreen State College and his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington.
Fernando has 18 years of experience working in a variety of educational settings, including K-12 education, four year universities, and community and technical colleges. Fernando has spent most of that time supporting individuals and families from disadvantaged backgrounds access, and succeed in higher education. Fernando currently resides in Pasco, Washington with his spouse and two kids.
Tania Mondaca is an immigrant from Mexico. She grew up in Redmond, WA where she developed a deep love for her community. Tania grew up as an undocumented immigrant and at one point was a DACA recipient. Thanks to the help of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), Tania is now a permanent resident. In 2014, Tania graduated with her bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington. Shortly after graduating she worked as a legal advocate at NWIRP. In 2017, she transitioned to the King County Council where she served as an Executive Legislative Aide for Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles. She continued to work for the Council while she earned her Master’s in Policy Studies from the University of Washington Bothell in 2020. Tania is currently an Executive and Policy Assistant for the King County Council.
Mary Jo Ybarra-Vega MS LMHC honors her family and her own history of being agricultural farmworkers. She is an Outreach/Behavioral Health Coordinator for Quincy Community Health Center in Quincy Washington. The Promotor de Salud Program, which she coordinates, has received numerous state and national awards for her work with migrant seasonal farmworkers, for innovation in outreach practices, dedication to youth, and to her lifetime service to her home community of Quincy WA. Mary Jo is a co-founder of the Washington State Promotores/Community Health Workers Network. Her passions are social justice for the poor, research for migrant seasonal farmworkers and elevating the Promotora workforce.
Ms. Ybarra-Vega attended Gonzaga University, in Spokane WA and received a Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Psychology with a minor in Spanish and Sociology. She later attended Central Washington University as a Patricia Harris Fellow and received her Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology and acquired an ESA School Counseling Certificate K-12. Mary Jo is a WA State Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Neuroscience-informed Certified Therapist.