Our Board

Wendy Davis

My name is Wendy. I grew up in Eastern Washington. My mother was a struggling single parent on welfare for most of my childhood. I grew up and got married, was a married mother for 12 years, then got divorced. I moved to the Olympia area in 2001 from Seattle and am now a single mom with two teenagers and a 4 year old. I have been navigating through the welfare system since my youngest was born and I still don't fully understand why it is so complicated. I have had to make difficult choices in the past 4 years that I never thought I would have to make regarding my youngest child. I have come to realize that poverty is something that we are all vulnerable to and there needs to be more awareness about it and respect for it. The biggest problem that I have with the current welfare system is how recipients are treated as "less than" and given whatever treatment the caseworkers feel like giving them according to their mood and personality. This is not right and I wish to change the attitudes and the rules to improve consistency.

Children are my biggest priority because I believe that if they are made to feel important by us, they will expect to be treated with respect as adults. Children are the core of society and make the world a better place. I have volunteered and worked for the public school system in Thurston County over the past 10 years and have several years of experience as a preschool teacher in Seattle. I am currently a student at Evergreen and have volunteered at POWER for a month and a half as part of an internship. I work in the POWER office about 10 hours a week. Advocacy and outreach are my two favorite activities at POWER.

When I began going to college in 2006, my son was 1 year old and my goal was to become a psychologist and make lots of money. Three years later, my goal is to help people and to make a difference in their lives. I plan to start a nonprofit organization for single parents in the future to support the lifestyle of those families. I wish to diminish the stereotypes of single parents and make it a social norm rather than an "alternative lifestyle".

I am proud to be part of an organization that fights for the rights of those who are not heard by our welfare system. The voices of the poor are just as important, if not more so, as the voices of the rich.

Jennifer Roberts

Jennifer Roberts has volunteered with WROC and POWER for a long time. She loves the work of POWER. She knows that poverty is not a choice, it happens to you. She has gained amount of incredible amount knowledge since she started volunteering. She wants to continue to help in the fight to eradicate poverty. She also helped with the founding of POWER. Some of her skills include fundraising, outreach, legislative education, and databasing.

Cat Sullivan

Cat Sullivan has been a low-income worker for over 30 years. She has also been a welfare recipient. As an older woman who straddled the advent of more women in the workforce from a time when many women stayed home and raised their children, Cat knew of those two worlds, their differences and what was good and bad about both. She can testify from personal experience as a low-income worker, as a parent, and welfare recipient because whe has lived it as well as being an organizer and an activist.

For over 18 year Cat has known and worked with the community of organizers who have worked to eradicate poverty. She successfully fought for and got an education through the WorkFirst Program and is passionately supportive of allowing all low income women (and men) to obtain a higher education or skill according to their abilities and desires and to eradicate the rampant racism and sexism that prevents such education that she has witnessed with her own eyes.

Cat is also a passionate support for raising our society's consciousness around the sexist and racist attitudes in our society, especially for the lack of support for raising children. She tries to live her life as well as speak to changing things so that no matter who you are and your circumstances, parenting and care giving is considered work that contributes to and is worthy of our community's and government's support. She has worked for years on raising the conscience of legislators, policy makers, citizens, and other organizers to promote these things by writing and speaking to them.

Cat lives in the Seattle area and has server on the following organizations as board member. Keystone Congregational Church Board Member, Welfare Rights Organizing Coalitions, Headstart Parent Board. Cat want to serve on POWER's board beacuse she is a passionate supporter and believer in the people and policies around POWER's mission and work, which coincide with her own work. It means more to her than any other work she has done except perhaps parenting her kids. This is why POWER is so important and a strong voice to peak for those who have few to speak for them.

Mary Dell Williams

I am a biracial woman who is a mom, a daughter and a strong advocate for social justice. I believe I should be at the forefront of social justice movements and that is part of my purpose. I am in recovery and have been clean and sober for 18 years. I am the mom of Nathaniel, a 12-year old, AND step mom of Jivan, a 15-year old. My partner is in prison and surviving that system day by day, another struggle! I live with my mother, who is also named Mary (I am named after my mom and my dad) in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood. I went to all Seattle Public Schools, my son is in a public school in the south end, my mom goes to the Senior Center regularly.

I am currently a student at Seattle Central Community College in the Social and Human Services program. I am politically active, I am socially conscious, and I know I can work hard to help change things for my, my partner and my son’s future.

Naomi McCoy

I was on the WROC Board of Director's for six years, five of them as the President. I was actively involved with the Executive, Auction, and Fundraising Committees. I assisted with record keeping for a short period of time. I volunteered in many ways such as record keeping, cooking the main meal for 100+ and decorating for the auction and membership meetings. I met with major donor over many years. The largest major gift was $5,000. I have worked on multiple boards such as Secretary Association Educational Office Professionals (SAEOP), University of Hawaii Alumni, Country Doctor and Carolyn Downs Community Health Clinic. Currently I serve as the Member-at-Large for my Condo Association.

I hold a BA degree in Business Management, AA Degree Deaf Studies, Certificate in Bookkeeping and Accounting. I also have earned the Certified Educational Office Employee (CEOE) from National Association Office Professionals. I won the President's Medal 1993 from South Seattle Community College. I have also been awarded many honors and awards for service, content of character and scholarship over many years.

Aaron Petry Scott

I was surprised (and delighted!) to be appointed as a POWER board member.  Aaron is the proud child of a mother who was on her own from the age of sixteen, and developed her core sense of fairness and dignity from mom's home training.  Aaron has worked as a nanny, a coffee-slinger, a dry-cleaner, a public school teacher's aide and tutor, an intern with Queers for Economic Justice as their Immigrant Rights intern, and as a work-study student at the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary.  Aaron is a seminary grad, the child of a Methodist pastor, and the spouse of an Episcopal priest.  She currently works with the research department at Providence Hospital on projects that examine the accessibility of health care for vulnerable people, and lives in Vancouver with her beautiful partner, Shelly.  

Aaron isn't a parent yet, but hopes to be soon, and is thus really grateful to be surrounded by all the wonderful parents at POWER!

Teresa Mosqueda

Teresa Mosqueda has worked in the last decade to advance health and social justice policies for children, families and seniors. From her past positions in public health to her most recent work in implementing health care reform, Teresa advocates for fundamental public policy changes to address root causes of health disparities in the health care system, in addition to socio-economic factors that drive inequality.

Teresa was born in Denver, Colorado and was raised in Olympia, Washington. She graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies and received a Master of Public Administration degree from The Evergreen State College. Teresa’s work experience began at Sea Mar Community Health Centers where she managed a program to assists elder Latino clients with health care, housing, transportation and nutrition services. While completing her Master’s degree, she worked at the Washington State Department of Health developing policy recommendations in coalition to advance nutrition and physical activity opportunities for all populations, as well as tracking legislation and providing analyses for the Community and Family Health Division.

Teresa worked at the Children’s Alliance as the Health Policy Coordinator and then the Advocacy and Legislative Relations Director. Teresa organized the Children's Alliance public policy and lobbying campaigns for children’s health, education, nutrition, and welfare policies. Teresa advocated in solidarity with coalition members to prevent budget cuts and demand new revenue to protect vital jobs, education, health care and social programs. Her leadership on children’s health coverage helped defend against all attacks, and advanced legislative priorities to cover uninsured children in one of the most difficult legislative sessions in recent memory. After the 2009 session, one legislative member said of Teresa, “The children of this state will lead healthier, more productive lives because of her exceptional dedication to their cause, her relentless advocacy, and her mastery of the legislative process.”

Teresa most recently worked at the Community Health Plan and Community Health Network of Washington (CHP/CHNW), a non-profit community-based organization, where she served as the Health Care Reform Specialist for the Public Policy/Government Affairs Team. Teresa advanced policies and built consensus for positions based upon the organization’s commitment to providing comprehensive and coordinated care to all individuals regardless of insurance or ability to pay. She provided analyses and recommendations to policy makers and advocates to help push for delivery-system transformation based on value, quality, continuity and affordability of care, and promote accessibility through use of transportation, interpretation, and community- based services. Teresa is committed to expanding her work to fight directly against poverty, classism, sexism and racism. It is these social determinants of health that undermine efforts to improve health outcomes. Promoting worker’s rights, safety, livable wages, and self-determination are necessary in order to create healthier societies, families and individuals.

Board and Memberships:

• Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights
• Medical Legal Partnership for Children Advisory Board, 2009 – 2010 Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities
• Education Advisory Committee, 2009
• Health Insurance Advisory Committee, 2009 Children’s Campaign Fund, 2007 – 2009 UW Health Promotion Research Center - Community Advisory Board Member, 2003 – 2004