Fund Advisory Groups

When the COVID-19 Response Fund formed in early March 2020, King County’s Pandemic Community Advisory Group (PCAG) stepped in to provide invaluable support and knowledge as the Fund worked to rapidly deploy the first phase of rapid-response grants.

As the Fund moves into Phase 2, people who are most impacted by the pandemic will continue to guide our grantmaking, and the constantly changing landscape of needs calls for an evolution of the Fund’s advisory body. In late April, the PCAG shifted from playing an oversight role in the grantmaking process, allowing it to return to its original King County charter: sharing information and urging action within their respective networks, and informing Public Health on what they are seeing on the ground.

For Phase 2 and beyond, Seattle Foundation has assembled a new advisory group specifically to counsel to the COVID-19 Response Fund. These 22 individuals represent a variety of community perspectives and voices, including a cross-section of sectors, neighborhoods, and groups impacted by the current crisis. Throughout the remainder of 2020, they will perform several key functions:

  • Provide strategic guidance on the overall funding approach and priorities.
  • Shape funding guidelines for future funding phases based on the region’s fluctuating needs, systems, networks, and opportunities.
  • Review proposed grant dockets and identify any gaps.
  • Ensure the accountability of the Fund to its purpose and priorities.

To supplement this advisory group, we are also creating shorter-term work groups to further inform grantmaking decisions, and these groups will report to the primary advisory group. For example, tables of community experts will guide curated funding choices. Composed of people with relevant community and content expertise, these groups bring deep knowledge and understanding of available data sources, impacted communities, and relevant systems. We have also developed internal processes to document and manage conflicts of interest. Current members of these groups are listed below.

COVID-19 Response Fund Advisory Group

Aneelah Afzali, Muslim Association of Puget Sound
Lilliane Ballesteros, Latino Community Fund
Deanna Dawson, Sound Cities Association
Trish Dziko, Technology Access Foundation 
Colleen Echohawk, Chief Seattle Club 
Regina Elmi, Somali Parents Education Board
Darya Farivar, Disability Rights Washington
Ubax Gardheere, City of Seattle
Eric Holzapfel, Entre Hermanos 
Katie Hong, Raikes Foundation 
Ginger Kwan, Open Doors for Multicultural Families
Debbie Lacy, Eastside Refugee and Immigrant Coalition 
Tim Lennon, LANGSTON 
Amy Liu, Microsoft 
Esther Lucero, Seattle Indian Health Board
Taffy Maene, UTOPIA
Bernadette Merikle, Community Center for Education Results 
Sili Savusa, White Center CDA 
Steven Sawyer, POCAAN 
Suni Tolton, City of Shoreline
Lalita Uppala, Indian Association of Western WA
Matias Valenzuela, Public Health – Seattle & King County

Phase 2 Childcare Grants – Expert Table

Phoebe Anderson, Child Care Resources
Nimco Bulale, One America
Karen Howell Clark, United Way
Jessica De Barros, Puget Sound Education Service District
Becca Graves, Perigee Fund
Brianna Jackson, Stolte Family Foundation
Raychael Jensen, Ballmer Group
Janica Lockhart, Children’s Home Society
Hilda Magana, El Centro de la Raza
Paola Maranan, Children’s Alliance
Deeann Puffert, Child Care Aware
Elizabeth Whitford, Schools Out Washington
Megan Wyatt, Bezos Family Foundation
Susan Yang, Denise Louie Education Center 
Zam Zam Mohamed, Voices for Tomorrow

Phase 2 Mental and Behavioral Health Grants – Expert Table

Somiereh Amifaiz, Atlantic Street Center
Claudia D’Allegri, SeaMar
Ben Danielson, Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic
Aileen De Leon, WAPI
David Downing, Youth Eastside Services
Becca Graves, Perigee Fund
David Johnson, Navos
Victor Loo, ACRS
Susan McLaughlin, HealthierHere
Risho Sapano, Mother Africa
Michael Tulee, United Indians of All Tribes 
Sabrina Woon-Chen, API Chaya