Naria K. Santa Lucia

Woman of Courage

Naria Santa Lucia currently serves as Executive Director of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS), a unique public-private partnership helping to build the next generation of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and health care professionals in Washington State. WSOS provides support and scholarship for low- and middle-income college students in Washington State. In 2015, WSOS raised $41 million in private funds and $41 million in public funds for scholarships and support, which will fund 14,800 low-and middle-income students in Washington State by 2021.

Naria specializes in leading mission-driven organizations in their quest to raise revenue, increase programming, and act strategically to increase outcomes for their clients. She is a catalyst for positive organizational growth due to her ability to exercise exceptional judgment, prioritize in a visionary and strategic manner, and establish effective organizational procedures and policies to achieve intended programmatic outcomes. Naria has a proven ability to efficiently assess and develop creative solutions to complex systems. Her success as an organizational leader stems from a deep respect for dissenting views, historical efforts, and stakeholder interests. She manages teams as a servant-leader: training and lifting up her co-workers and team members to achieve the best results.

Naria is a graduate of the Law School and the College at the University of Chicago, where she graduated with honors and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. She currently serves on the Board of Washington Nonprofits and Columbia Legal Services, and volunteers with Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Naria was recently honored as a 40 Under 40 nominee by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Naria lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.