Legislative District 46
UW community members are living and working in districts across Washington state. Here's how we are making an impact in your neck of the woods.
Image source: UW Visual Asset Collection
FAST FACTS
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36,526 alumni
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359 Husky Promise students
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2,077 UW students
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8,197 UW faculty and staff
FEATURED HUSKIES FROM THE 46TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
After facing a cancer diagnosis and losing his job due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryan Dwyer channeled his energy toward serving front-line workers by starting a nonprofit: Fine Dine Front Lines. Fine Dine Front Lines has delivered more than 5,100 meals to 14 hospitals, from Gig Harbor to Spokane. “I can either … lie here terrified, or I can create some aspect of motivation, sanity and peace.”
“'Teach for equity' is my teaching philosophy,” says Yasmeen Pelayo, now a K–1 teacher at Seattle’s Beacon Hill International Elementary School. Pelayo is intentional and creative in integrating Spanish into her virtual class experience and strives to help students connect with their own identity.
"While my path to law school was unconventional, my time at the University of Washington School of Law has been shaped by resilience, recovery, and a commitment to using my legal education to advocate for others. Through experiences such as externing with Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, representing clients as a Rule-9 intern with the Whatcom County Public Defender, working in the Civil Rights & Justice Clinic, and publishing scholarship on access to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder in jails, I have worked to turn lived experience into meaningful advocacy for people marginalized by race, disability, poverty, and criminalization. I am honored to be recognized as a Husky 100 recipient because my journey reflects how perseverance, accountability, and community support can transform personal challenges into a commitment to justice and service."
"My journey as a student at UW has been characterized by a determination to integrate environmental justice, immigrant rights, language, culture, and creativity. With a double bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Comparative History of Ideas (CHID), I have embraced every opportunity to engage with my community and support my peers, from on-campus clubs and initiatives to studying abroad in Morocco and Mexico. I am dedicated to bridging and making connections across fields and disciplines, finding new and different ways to discover more about the world and about myself."
"At the core of my Husky experience has been learning to connect theory and methodology in the classroom with lived realities and practices in the community and to meaningfully show up where I can be of service — as a public health nurse, teaching assistant, scientist in training, volunteer at the Seattle King County Clinic, or Youth Representative to the United Nations. Across these roles, I have learned that progress happens through relationships, interdisciplinary collaboration, navigating ambiguity with curiosity, and a commitment to equity that reflects the communities we serve. Being named a Husky 100 feels less like a recognition of me and more like an acknowledgment of the people and partnerships that have so graciously shaped my path and the work we’ve done together."
SERVING THE 46TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
The UW facilitates hundreds of programs in communities across the state. Below are a few that operate in your district. Programs active as of January 2022.
The University of Washington
The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land that touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations.
Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is the state’s flagship public research university. Educating more than 54,000 students annually and employing over 44,000 individuals, the UW educates and serves residents from every corner of the state. Students, faculty and staff partner with community members to discover timely solutions to the world’s most complex problems and enrich the lives of people throughout the state of Washington.
Foster School of Business–Consulting and Business Development Center
The Center engages students and local business owners in solving complex, unstructured, real-world challenges. Through faculty-led business education courses and the work of student consulting teams, the Center grows business revenues and jobs with a focus on businesses owned by those who are LGBTQ+, people of color, women, veterans, tribal citizens and those located in underserved communities. Since its inception in 1995, the Center has generated more than $210 million in new revenue and retained over 200,000 jobs. Classes are offered in Seattle, Yakima, the Tri-Cities and on tribal lands while drawing business owners regionally and nationally.
Forefront in the Schools
Forefront in the Schools (FIS), an initiative of the UW’s Forefront Suicide Prevention program, guides high school administrators, students and parents through a collaborative, comprehensive process of policy development and curriculum improvement to build on existing student mental-health and suicide-prevention efforts. FIS aims to create school communities that are prepared to prevent student mental-health problems and respond to students with mental-health needs, including those at risk for suicide.
The Doorway Project
The Doorway Project addresses youth homelessness in Seattle’s University District through continuous community-engaged collaboration with service providers. The project’s mission is to use healing-centered engagement to reduce youth homelessness and improve quality of life for all affected. It strengthens services for young people experiencing homelessness, offering the resources and tools they need to thrive.
Behavioral Health Teaching Facility
In 2019, the UW partnered with the state to reimagine and build a solution to Washington’s crisis in behavioral-health services. With $33.5 million provided by the Legislature, the UW is designing a behavioral-health teaching hospital at UW Medical Center–Northwest in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood. The hospital will treat patients and train our state’s next generation of behavioral-health workers. With additional appropriations from the state, construction is scheduled to begin in late 2021, with operations anticipated to begin by November 2023.
Young Executives of Color
Young Executives of Color (YEOC) is a nine-month college pipeline program hosted by the UW’s Michael G. Foster School of Business. YEOC focuses on engaging high school students of color in a comprehensive curriculum that includes college preparation, professional development, business lectures and powerful mentorship. The program, which is free to students, currently serves 190 students from over 75 high schools around Washington state.
46TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES
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Sen. Javier Valdez (D)Sen. Javier Valdez (D)
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Rep. Gerry Pollet (D)Rep. Gerry Pollet (D)
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Rep. Darya Farivar (D)Rep. Darya Farivar (D)
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