Sutapa Basu, PhD (she/her)
Executive Director and Affil. Assistant Professor
Email: sbasu@uw.edu
Phone: (206) 685-1090
Devoni Whitehead, MPA (they/she)
Administrator, Program Operations
Devoni had received their Master’s in Public Administration at the UW Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, where they specialized in Social policy, and conducted a capstone evaluation and policy analysis on the Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot in King County. She utilized her time at UW to hold student leadership positions, creating dedicated spaces to enrich the learning experience for students. Before coming to the UW Women’s Center as the Administrator, Devoni worked in Indigenous data sovereignty, facilitating the access to vital community information to tribes through the use of statistical analysis and community-centered data collection.
As the child of an immigrant family, Devoni’s passions for social justice and advocacy stemmed from witnessing how rising sea levels, typhoons, and floods devastated her mother’s home country. As a Neurodivergent Black Filipina, Devoni is not only committed to highlighting the voices of her intersecting communities, but curating spaces that empower, uplift, and foster community-centered connections.
In her free time, Devoni is a visual artist that creates pieces of art that explores topics of environmental racism, social justice, and community care. You can find her running around Seattle at various markets and craft fairs. You can also find them roller skating, cooking with loved ones, and taking care of their guinea pigs.
Email: womens@uw.edu
Maria Abando (she/her)
Assistant Director of Making Connections Program
Born and raised in Tacoma, WA, Maria joins Making Connections with a deep passion for youth advocacy and educational justice. She applies over five years of experience as a community and electoral organizer in various local and national campaigns, political action committees, and nonprofit programs. A common thread throughout her work has been accessibility in education. As Maria states, “Through education, we strengthen our communities’ abilities to explore, collaborate and find solutions to the shared problems of our world. And once we are rooted in knowledge, and we come together across differences with our voices, stories, talents, and resources, we have the collective power needed to build movements that work towards the liberation of oppressed and marginalized peoples everywhere”. Maria knows firsthand that addressing educational disparities with youth and girls of color is a necessary step towards antiracist workplaces and communities. She graduated from the UW in 2017 with a B.S. in Biology, and felt that having support in school was especially essential in environments and classes where very few people came from backgrounds like hers – low-income, first-generation students, and immigrant families. Maria’s involvement in a similar pipeline program as a high schooler helped make her success possible. She found community support while working with the Black Student Union and Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and learned how to utilize her perspective as a Black and Filipina woman in her work after graduating. She has stayed connected to the UW through serving on President Cauce’s Minority Community Advisory Committee. In her free time, Maria is also a visual artist who enjoys balancing her volunteer and community activism with creativity, holistic joy, and lifelong learning.
Email: womens@uw.edu
Safiya Karmy-Jones, PhC (she/her)
Assistant Director of Returning and Non-Traditional Student Program and Special Projects
As assistant director of the Re-Entry/Non-Traditional Student program and special projects, Safiya utilizes her experience in teaching, advising, tutoring, and mentoring non-traditional students of all backgrounds. This experience includes working as an instructor in the University’s Interdisciplinary and Expository Writing Programs, a teaching assistant for the American Ethnic Studies Department, a tutor for the City of Seattle’s Upward Bound program, and a volunteer educator for the Freedom Education Project Puget Sound.
Safiya credits who she is today as well as her academic and professional passions to the communities and people that raised her, most centrally the stories and convictions of her sitty (paternal grandmother), whose teachings were deeply informed by her status as a Palestinian refugee. Safiya is also proud to be the sibling of an autistic self-advocate, her brother, to whose example she owes her identity as a disability studies scholar. Both of these role models impressed upon Safiya the importance of stories, history, and education from a young age.
As Safiya states, “The people I love taught me to be someone who strives for access and equity in my scholarship, professional work, and personal life. In my experience, the Women’s Center is an organization dedicated to and built on these ideals. I am proud to join the Center’s team and to be of service to students, staff, faculty, and community members.”
Email: womens@uw.edu
Jennifer Stoneking (she/her)
Assistant to the Director
Jennifer is currently pursuing her MSW at the University of Washington. She graduated from the University of Montana, earning a B.A. in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Jennifer is both the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree and the first to pursue a master’s degree. Jennifer understands what it is like to face institutional barriers, and works each day knowing that the personal is political.
Before relocating to Seattle, Jennifer worked as part of the clinical team for Florence Crittenton Montana: a non-profit that provides residential chemical dependency treatment for pregnant and parenting women. As a clinical provider, she implemented trauma informed care for women and children in vulnerable times, with most clients being Indigenous, survivors of human trafficking, and survivors of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Jennifer understands that by having a marginalized identity, one is more likely to experience violence, poverty, medical neglect, socioeconomical disadvantages, and chemical dependency. This is what shaped her desire to pursue work in gender equity using a trauma informed approach.
Jennifer has a demonstrated history of applying a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens to her everyday work. She is known to look at each intersection of a client’s identity in order to form a therapeutic, accessible, and inclusive practice. From directing the University of Montana Women’s Resource Center as a full-time undergraduate student, to coordinating the University of Montana’s Food Pantry, her life’s purpose it to serve those with marginalized identities and work towards making the world a more equitable place.
Email: womens@uw.edu
Armaghan Fakhremoghaddam (she/her)
Making Connections Coordinator
Armaghan Fakhremoghaddam is a sophomore at the University of Washington pursuing a double degree in Psychology (B.A) and Neuroscience (B.S). She was born in Tehran, Iran and because of her religion and the discrimination she and her family faced in their country they moved to Turkey for their visa process. She and her sister started going to school in Turkey and learned Turkish during their school years. After five years of waiting, they moved to U.S and have been living in Bellevue area for three years. Due to her experience in her first years in the U.S and Iran she is determined to create a community where everyone’s voice is heard and respected. She is also passionate in uplifting students especially women and girls withing the community by providing valuable support and resources.
During her time as a refugee in Turkey, she displayed remarkable compassion by actively supporting fellow refugees by offering language assistance or providing emotional support. She also had youth gathering with goals based on building a better community. Despite her relatively short time in the U.S she wants to create a positive impact in the society and on individual’s lives.
Email: womens@uw.edu
Jasmine James (she/her)
As a second-year graduate student with the Museum Studies program, Jasmine strives to take things in stride and chance the rest to fate. Prior to relocating to Seattle to pursue her Masters, Jasmine, originally from Montgomery Alabama attended the University of Alabama where she received her Bachelor of Arts in History and Photography. Her interests within the museum field are collections and curation, though nothing piques her interests like a good lighthouse.
More than anything else, her unique perspective brought from the opposite end of the country has inspired her how it’s uplifted her fellow colleagues and friends alike. Her life’s purpose is to one day return a favor to the city which raised her, but to do so requires bravery and wit like no other. She hopes to become someone reliable in her craftsmanship while having fun along the way.
Outside of the busy lifestyle of a student she enjoys the quiet and being a night owl, contemplating. Should you catch her, she might recommend a song (or concerto) to tune in for.
Email: womens@uw.edu
Shelby Carranza (she/her)
Shelby Carranza is a first year graduate student at the University of Washington School of Law, where she is seeking to further her career in environmental law and regulation. Prior to relocating to Seattle, in pursuit of a Masters, Shelby, originally from Connecticut, attended Trinity College where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science and Political Science.
Shelby is both the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree and the first to pursue a master’s degree, as well as the eldest daughter in her family. Shelby understands what it is like to face institutional barriers, and the challenges that come with being the first to seek out academic opportunities. She actively works every day to positively represent and guide students with the same struggles and experiences.
At her core, Shelby is a researcher who wholeheartedly values the environment. Shelby has conducted research on sustainability programs in public schools, performed hazardous waste assessments, analyzed TOC levels in freshwater, examined mercury in soil samples, and conducted oak tree health research. She hopes to continue to help the environment and its surrounding communities by tackling environmental injustices and remediating environmental negligence.
Email: womens@uw.edu
Amie Lai (she/her)
Administrative Assistant
Amie is currently a senior studying Finance & Information Systems at the Foster School of Business. The youngest of three sisters, Amie is also a first-generation student and the daughter of Chinese immigrants from Vietnam. Raised by parents who left all they had to pursue a better life for themselves, she strives to keep that passion burning by paying it forward and influencing others.
Born and raised in Olympia, Amie is a Washington local and avid foodie. She loves visiting new restaurants and learning to cook various dishes at home. Some other interests include music, pickleball, and golfing.
Amie is excited to join the team at the Women’s Center, hoping to apply previous learnings during her time and continuing to learn all that she can. She is looking forward to meeting people from different backgrounds and contributing to fostering an inclusive, strong community.
Email: womens@uw.edu
Twitter
Facebook
Join Our Mailing List
Instagram
LinkedIn