Creating Connections: Engaging Leaders in Change
Hosted Oct. 10, 2024
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center, International Rescue Committee, United Way of King County’s Emerging Leaders, Success Cohorts, FIUTS (Foundation for International Understanding Through Students), Seattle University’s Alfie Scholars, Urban Native Education Alliance, and Young Professionals International Network came together to celebrate and connect individuals and organizations and inspire leaders to drive change within their communities and beyond.
Attendees met people in the Seattle area who are making positive changes in their communities. Moderated by Kim Ironroad (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe) – Senior Program Assistant, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, attendees heard from a panel of young leaders representing careers from civic engagement to education about how their experiences shaped their education & career journeys.
Watch the event video
Speakers
Moderator: Kim Ironroad
Kim Ironroad is a proud enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (Dakota), where she was raised. Kim has been with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for two years and works as a Senior Program Assistant within the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, Kim worked as the External Affairs Director for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe where she was part of the Chairman’s administration, Kim served as the liaison for state and federal agencies. Kim started her career at the unbeknownst company at the time, TOMS Shoes, where she was one of 12 interns and 13 employees. Kim places high value on family and on her culture and its customs and traditions.
Amanda Sandoval
Amanda Sandoval is a proud 1.5 generation Mexican American, born and raised in Washington state, and has a background in community organizing and policy and a passion for getting all communities involved in advocacy.
She is the director of systems change and public policy at United Way of King County, where she works on statewide, federal, and local policy. She also supports BIPOC-led system change, by investing and partnering with our BIPOC communities that are doing community-led advocacy to create fundamental changes in how policy is made and making sure the community has a voice. Amanda also serves in the US Air Force Reserves, doing air transportation and logistics.
She is deeply rooted in her community and identity and believes our collective experiences, different and same, are what makes us powerful and authentically ourselves.
Mashaal Shameem
Mashaal Shameem is a proud Shoreline Community College and Seattle University alum, graduating in 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Management and minors in Entrepreneurship and Philosophy. A proud global citizen who has lived experiences in Canada and Pakistan, Mashaal is passionate about using her perspective to be a representative and advocate for social justice in her community.
As a first generation, international and transfer student, Mashaal is a strong advocate for equity in education, using platforms such as the IDEAL Guided Pathways fellowship, State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) taskforce with the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), and the Communities for Colleges Coalition to advocate for accessibility to resources, mental health and financial literacy. Mashaal is the Assistant Director of Residential Life at SCC, where she strives to create a welcoming, actively positive, living and learning community.
Allison Spooner
Allison Spooner is the HR and Equity Manager at Washington Sea Grant, University of Washington where she has built a strong foundation in training design, relationship building, and conflict resolution, all driven by her passion for creating meaningful and sustained change.
As the daughter of immigrant parents and a first-generation college graduate, Allison’s commitment to civic engagement is deeply personal.
A pivotal organization in Allison’s development over the last two years has been Success Cohorts, which helps early-career individuals become the next generation of leaders. As a first-generation professional, Allison found the skills and insights from this program incredibly valuable, and she continues to apply them in her career today.
Nagham Sttout
Nagham Sttout is a freshman at the University of Washington and a first-generation immigrant from Syria. As a leader in the Institute for Community Leadership within the Martin Luther King Leadership Center, she studies the “Triplets of Injustice” that Dr. King highlighted– Racism, Poverty, and War. In Kent, she actively participates in civic efforts, working to find positive solutions for stronger community, and safe environment for all, raise awareness on their role in their communities and educate the public about the importance of voting. She also delivers speeches at various venues.
Before coming to the U.S., she spent almost 11 years in Jordan, where she chaired her high school’s Press and Media Committee for four years. Her experiences as an immigrant refugee have inspired this dream to build a better world where no person should live in fear of war or discrimination.