King County Women's Advisory Board

Hamdi Abdulle

Representing the Council At-Large.

Hamdi Abdulle fills one of the Council At-large positions on the WAB and currently resides in District 6. Ms. Abdulle is the Executive Director of African Community Housing Development (ACHD). She is former teacher graduated from Lafole school of teaching Somalia and later graduated from George Maison University Fairfax VA. Through her extensive career in community advocacy in South King County Hamdi enjoys respect from many influential community members throughout King County, she has close ties to people in organizations within the community as well. She participated in many decision-making tables and is a board member of All Home whose work includes making homelessness rare, brief, and one-time. She participated in One Table discussions and as standing member of the affordable Housing Task Force, she responsibly advocated for more support and more education to significantly impact homelessness in the African and Native community and the community of color at large. Ms. Abdulle has a history of being an effective and functional advocate in implementing systems and policy change for racial justice and equity. She is a member of the community Café Collaborative and has been facilitating meaningful community café conversations to help elevate community voices, ideas, and solutions. Hamdi strongly advocates for community-led initiatives where participants learn from each other, find and follow their own solutions, and identify best communication and learning methods that work for them. Her cultural and language skills and competencies have helped her build trust and investment within the communities she has served, and she continues to work with those communities to assist them in shaping their own future as well as being part of King County’s economic growth. In 2016 Hamdi received the best and highest possible award that a community elder can give to a well-respected community leader. Shown in the picture. Ms. Abdulle is polylingual and Multi-cultural and poet in her Somali language. Ms. Abdulle believes in informed community and informed systems.

Contact: WAB12@kingcounty.gov

Kathy Brasch

Representing the Executive-At-Large.

Ms. Brasch served on the Regional Human Services Levy Oversight Board and states that the time on that board gave her an insight into the workings of the King County citizen boards as well as a new appreciation of the county’s work in human services. She also volunteers as a Mass Care Team Leader with the Red Cross which has given her insight in the ways women are involved in the recovery process following disasters. Ms. Brasch reports that working with the Carnation-Duvall Citizen Corps also gives her the opportunity to work with women in rural areas as they prepare their families for emergencies and disasters. Her experiences in working with these diverse groups enhanced her ability to understand some of the challenges they face.  She is hopeful that her experiences and abilities will have positive impacts to assist the and the Women’s Advisory Board as it helps women overcome obstacles and better their lives.

Contact: WAB14@kingcounty.gov

Karol Brown

Representing District 6.

Karol Brown resides in and represents District 6 on the WAB. Ms. Brown is the managing attorney for World One Law Group in Bellevue, Washington. World One Law Group is a firm with seven attorneys, paralegals, and staff that handle business, family, and asylum immigration cases. Karol earned an Economics degree and an International Studies degree at the University of Washington. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a law degree from Yale Law School. She has taught Immigration Law at the University of Washington School of Law. She also founded the Center for Human Rights and Justice at the University of Washington and Seattle University law schools, which enables law students to take on human rights projects for organizations throughout the world. Karol also worked as a pro bono attorney, board member, and Policy and Advocacy Director for One America (previously Hate Free Zone Washington). She has consulted for governments, non-profit organizations, and major corporations such as Microsoft’s Law and Corporate Affairs.

Contact: WAB6@kingcounty.gov

Rebecca resides in Shoreline, WA and enjoys time with her husband, son and daughter.  Her hometown is Vancouver, WA.  At University of Washington, Rebecca was active with Asian American groups on campus.  She was previously employed as a Decision Support Analyst at Swedish Health Services.  Rebecca is a Labor Efficiency Manager at Providence St Joseph Health (PSJH), embedded at the Swedish Edmonds Campus with 15+ years of healthcare finance experience.  Rebecca firmly believes in Health Care For All; healthcare and education access are human rights.  Previously, she was employed at non-profit Student Loan Finance Association.

She was a participant of the 2002 Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation leadership program and a working group member of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum.  Rebecca served six years as the Harborview Community Service League Treasurer earning the Volunteer Service Award.

Post college, she joined the board of Organization of Chinese Americans, now known as OCA Advocates - Greater Seattle Chapter as the civil rights co-chair; she served on the board for almost 10 years.  Rebecca’s maternal grandfather was a paperson who bravely came forward during amnesty in the 1960s to apply for his family to come to the United States from Hong Kong.  The family fled communist China due to their social-economic status.  Rebecca's grandfather worked for the Portland Fish Company in Astoria processing salmon eggs for shipment to Japan.

Rebecca is a licensed CPA.  She was a United Way volunteer tax preparer at the downtown Seattle library and Hopelink location in Shoreline.

Knowing her community and civic engagement is part of Rebecca's core values.  Her son is a graduate of Cascade K-8 Community School (CK8) where all parents are encouraged to be highly engaged through the PTSA.  In 2019, CK8 presented her with the Acorn PTA Outstanding Advocate Award. Rebecca's father was a teacher in Hong Kong where education and teachers are highly regarded.  Rebecca and her husband advocated for Mandarin in the Shoreline School District.  During elementary school, Rebecca's daughter became aware of diversity, equity and inclusion issues at her school which motivated the family to advocate in their educational community.  Rebecca and her husband were awarded in 2021 the PTA Lifetime Membership for recognition of significant contribution to the development and growth of the CK8 PTSA.   

In 2019, Rebecca was appointed to a partial term on the King County Women's Advisory Board.  She is now serving her first full 3-year team on the board.  In 2021, Rebecca was appointed to the Shoreline Community College Board of Trustees.

Contact: WAB1@kingcounty.gov

Dionne brings a wealth of experience in strategy development, public policy research and advocacy to her work. She is passionate about unlocking the opportunities for collaboration between sectors, especially with unique and unlikely partnerships. Dionne is currently a Program Officer at Seattle Foundation where she aligns resources strategically in support of policy and systems change by and for low income communities and communities of color. Dionne has worked in policy, research and advocacy for local government including serving as a Policy Advisor in the Office of Policy and Innovation and Senior Policy Advisor for Seattle Public Utilities. Dionne co-authored the 2015 King County Determinants of Equity Report. She got immersed in Seattle social justice and equity work through organizing with Got Green and leading climate justice policy at Puget Sound Sage. Dionne holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from George Mason University and a master’s degree in social work policy and administration from the University of Washington. In her spare time she loves to rock climb, go to shows, read and adventure with her son.

Contact: WAB15@kingcounty.gov

Jessica Giner

Representing District 3.

Jessica Giner is a member of the King County Women’s Advisory Board. Councilmember Kathy Lambert appointed Ms. Giner to serve as the District 3 representative in 2019. Ms. Giner brings to the Women’s Advisory Board her professional experience in law, government, and policy, having served as judge pro tempore, deputy prosecutor, and criminal defense attorney. Ms. Giner has served as a judge pro tempore in King County District Court and other Puget Sound district and municipal courts since 2014 and is the Program Director for City University of Seattle’s Criminal Justice Program where she also serves as a lecturer. Her work on sentencing guidelines and technology in the courtroom has been published. Ms. Giner resides with her husband and two children in District 3 and is dedicated to improving the lives of women and families in King County.

Contact: WAB3@kingcounty.gov

Contact: WAB7@kingcounty.gov

Zeeba fills one of the Council at Large positions on the WAB, is a resident of District 1, and is the current Board Chair. She is the Learning and Evaluation Officer at Marguerite Casey Foundation and was a member of Philanthropy Northwest's Momentum Fellowship. Her career has been devoted to supporting underserved youth and families and searching for clear, effective solutions to the complex problems challenging our communities. She has held positions at United Way of King County and Seattle Foundation in addition to working for multiple youth development and mentoring organizations in Boston. As a mentor through Summer Search, she supported resilient students from low-income backgrounds to graduate from high school, matriculate into college, and become leaders in their communities. Zeeba holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Wesleyan University.

Contact: WAB10@kingcounty.gov

Heena Khatri fills one of the Council At-large positions on the WAB and currently resides in District 6. Ms. Khatri is a financial consultant with 20 years of finance and operational experience including IPOs, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic international growth. She has a Master’s in International Finance from Seattle University and has worked on projects in Canada, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, UK and Rwanda. Heena has worked with the UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency) and Rwandan government developing a business accelerator program for Burundi refugees coming to Rwanda to help them become contributing members of their new country. She also spent time in Nepal developing a math program for remote village schools and empowering the female teachers create their own classroom curriculum based on the needs of the community. She is a licensed foster parent and is an advocate for children of color in the foster system. Her past experience includes board treasurer at Southwest Youth & Family Services, mentor for the YWCA GirlsFirst program, Seattle University undergraduate finance mentor, and ESL instructor with Hopelink. Heena is currently the Treasurer of OneAmerica Votes and a member of the Treehouse Policy and Advocacy Committee. In the summers, she volunteers for the Seattle Aquarium as a Beach Naturalist. She is a graduate of Emerge Washington and strongly believes women need to be heard and seen at all levels of government – local, state and national.

Contact: WAB13@kingcounty.gov

Contact: WAB8@kingcoutny.gov

Contact: WAB4@kingcounty.gov