I. Acknowledgments

We acknowledge our ancestors, our elders, and those who began the quest for equity, social justice, access, and belonging for all people long before the state of Washington put forth this five-year Washington State Pro-Equity Anti-Racism (PEAR) Ecosystem Plan & Playbook (“PEAR Plan & Playbook”). We recognize and honor the commitments and sacrifices made by so many champions for equity in Washington state government, in our communities, in our region, across the nation, and worldwide.

Special thanks to Representative Mia Gregerson, Representative Melanie Morgan, and Senator Manka Dhingra for sponsoring and championing legislation that created the Office of Equity, located in the Office of the Governor, and to the Office of Equity Task Force for laying the foundation for this work: Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities Task Force Staff: LinhPhung Huynh, Project Manager Esmael López, Community Engagement Coordinator Hannah Fernald, Administrative Coordinator, Christy Curwick Hoff, former Manager, and Co-Chairs Benjamin Danielson (Co-chair) Jan Olmstead (Co-chair), RaShelle Davis (former Office of the Governor), Washington State Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, Sharon Ortiz and Laura Lindstrand (former Human Rights Commission), Elizabeth Gordon (Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment) and Mandeep Kaundal (alternate), Lisa van der Lugt and alternates Rex Brown and Marika Barto (Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises), Maria Siguenza (Commission on Hispanic Affairs), Ed Prince (Commission on African American Affairs), Toshiko Hasegawa and alternate Carrie Huie Pascua (Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs), Manny Santiago, Omar Santana, and Allison Spectator (LGBTQ Commission/Community), Michelle Gonzalez and Marie Vela (WA State Women’s Commission), Craig Bill and alternate Mystique Hurtado (Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs), Representative Mia Gregerson, Representative Melanie Morgan, Senator Manka Dhingra, Representative Jeremie Dufault and alternate Alec Regimbal.

We are forever grateful to all of you who invested your time, brilliance, and energy in developing models that Washington state could replicate, customize, and scale for use, especially Dr. Matias Valenzuela (former Director, Office of Equity and Social Justice in King County, Washington), Dr. Markisha Webster (former Director of the Office of Equity and Human Rights for the City of Portland), the Honorable Dr. Janice Underwood (former Chief Diversity Officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Office of the Governor), and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) for leading as regional and national trailblazers for advancing equity and racial justice.

“We give thanks with a grateful heart.”

To each of you who completed an equity readiness organizational baseline assessment, participated in listening sessions, shared your lived experiences with us, helped to finalize Executive Order 22-04, or spoke up during the Governor’s Community and State Agency Roundtable, we hope you see and hear your voice in this PEAR Plan & Playbook. We are here because of you.

  • ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop
  • Arts Commission
  • Asian Pacific Islander Coalition
  • Association of Washington Cities
  • Attorney General’s Office: Kristin Lamson, Suzanne LiaBraaten
  • Leadership Team
  • Altavia Jones (OFM)
  • Ayanna Colman (ESD)
  • Blacks United In Leadership & Diversity (BUILD)
  • Black Education Strategy Round Table
  • Board of Accountancy
  • Career Connect Washington Statewide Team
  • Centro Latino
  • Charter School Commission
  • Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition (COPC)
  • Children/Families Ombuds Stakeholder
  • Commissioner Cami Feek (ESD)
  • Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO)
  • Criminal Justice Training Commission
  • Daniya Baisubanova (Arts Commission)
  • Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. – Tacoma Alumnae Chapter
  • Denise Ross (Puget Sound Partnership)
  • Department of Corrections (DOC) Executive Strategy Team and Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB)
  • Department of Natural Resources
  • Deputy Directors Group 1: Jessica Todorovich, Heather Bartlett, Catherine Mele, Kendrick Stewart, David Puente, Jr., Wendi Gunther, Annette Meyer, Elizabeth Smith, Cami Feek (former Director), Annette Meyer, Cheryl Sullivan-Colglazier (former OFM employee)
  • Disability Inclusion Network Business Resource Group (DIN)
  • Diversity Center of Washington
  • Dr. Erica Hernandez Scott (PESB)
  • Carrie Basas (former Education Ombuds)
  • Education Ombuds Stakeholders
  • Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee
  • Emerald Cities
  • Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council
  • Environmental & Land Use Hearings Office (ELUHO)
  • Evette Jasper (former DCYF employee)
  • Front & Centered
  • Gender and Justice Commission
  • Gonzaga University
  • Good Shepherd Youth Outreach
  • Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues & Employment
  • Governor’s Executive Order 22-04 Roundtable Participants: Josephine Tamayo Murray, Yazmin Aguilar, Karen Vargas, Wendy Taliaferro, Faduma Ahmed, Nicole Franklin, john miller, Clinton Johnson, Ricardo Ibarra, Jan Olmstead, Dr. Ben Danielson, Cami Feek, Lisa Brown, Manny Santiago, Marcus Glasper, Russ Olsen
  • Governor’s Executive Team
  • Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs
  • Health and Human Services group
  • Helping Human Systems & The Athena Group
  • Information Technology Services Division (ITSD) of OFM
  • Interagency Committee of State Employed Women (ICSEW)
  • Interagency Protected Class Network
  • Jessica Zinda (DSHS)
  • Joana Ramos and the Washington State Coalition for Language Access (WASCLA)
  • Joanne Lee (DES)
  • Kitsap Equity Race & Community Engagement (ERACE)
  • Larry Delgado (while at DES)
  • Latino Leadership Network (LLN)
  • Laura Bradley (OAH)
  • Marika Barto (while at OMWBE)
  • Mark Adreon (former Department of Services for the Blind employee)
  • Microsoft Corporate External Legal Affairs Team: Jiam Ma, Sami Bailey, & Joanne Market
  • Minority Veterans of America
  • Nicholas Vann (DAHP)
  • Northwest Harvest
  • Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
  • Office of Equity and Community Partnership-Public Health, Seattle & King County
  • Office of Financial Management (OFM) Forecasting Team
  • Office of the Commissioner of Public Lands
  • Pacific Lutheran University Executive Team
  • Pacific Northwest University of Health Services
  • Pierce County Community Engagement Task Force Leaders (PCCETF)
  • Pollution Liability Insurance Agency (PLIA)
  • Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB)
  • Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) (Laura Blackmore, Larry Epstein, Stephanie Suter, Melissa Schutten)
  • Rainbow Alliance and Inclusion Network (RAIN)
  • Results Washington
  • Robin Vazquez (HCA)
  • Rodney McAuley & Charlene Kay, Leaders in Spokane
  • Scott Nicholson (while at OFM)
  • Secretary of State Executive Team
  • Serve Washington
  • State Parks Commission
  • State Treasurer’s Office
  • Statewide DEI Council and State Human Resources
  • Statewide Deputy Director Group 1
  • Statewide Deputy Director Group 2
  • Superior Court Translation Commission
  • Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care
  • Theresa Powell (DSHS)
  • Tiffany Lamoreaux & Patricia Hayden
  • Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC)
  • Veteran’s Employee Resource Group (VERG)
  • Vicki Lowe (DOHi)
  • Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth Executive Leadership Team
  • Washington Bar Association
  • Washington State Business Resource Leaders
  • Washington State Deaf Employees Meeting
  • Washington Department of Services for the Blind
  • Washington State Diversity, Equity & Inclusion council
  • Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE)
  • Washington Immigrant Network (WIN)
  • Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Superintendent and Executive Team
  • Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
  • Washington State Board of Pilotage Commissioners
  • Washington State Governor’s Office for Regulatory Innovation & Assistance (ORIA)
  • Washington State Investment Board
  • Washington State LGBTQ Commission
  • Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC)
  • Washington State Women’s Commission
  • Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC)
  • Washington Traffic Safety Commission
  • Washington Workforce Association (WWA)
  • We Are One America
  • Wendy T and Trillium Employment Services
  • Western Washington University
  • Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
  • Washington Recovery Group (WRG)