Advancing Racial Equity Series
Listening and learning from communities of color.
The Advancing Racial Equity series creates an opportunity for the community to listen to and learn from BIPOC leaders and experts and engage in the work alongside us.
As United Way continues on this racial equity journey, we acknowledge that there is still more work to be done. We won’t see a community where everybody thrives until we have a racially just community. Join us on this journey and at our next event.
Most Recent Event
Advancing Racial Equity ft. BIPOC Businesses
To honor Dr. King’s legacy of economic empowerment of communities of color, we invite you to join us to hear from a dynamic panel of entrepreneurs and business leaders of color. Learn about how these leaders are investing in people and strengthening their communities.
Panelists:

Doug Baldwin Jr.
Managing Director of Vault 89 Ventures, CEO of Ventrk, and Founder of the Family First Community Center Foundation. As the recipient of the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service Award, Doug is a philanthropic activist with a passion for creating empathic solutions to complex problems. The former Seattle Seahawk and Super Bowl Champion is, most importantly, a devoted husband and father.

Laura Clise
Laura Clise is the founder and CEO of Intentionalist, a social purpose corporation that makes it easy to support Main Street small businesses and diverse communities through more intentional spending. Laura has been recognized for her leadership, including a Human Rights Campaign Award for Exceptional Individual Achievement, the Female Founders Alliance 2020 Unsung Hero Award, Seattle Magazine Most Influential 2020, GSBA Business & Humanitarian Awards Business Person of the Year 2021, Puget Sound Business Journal – Outstanding Voices 2021, as a 2021 OL Reign Legend, and a 2022 recipient of the Bertha Pitts Campbell Equity Award.

Efrem Fesaha
Efrem Fesaha, is a first-generation Eritrean American whose family moved to the US (West Seattle) in 1988. In 2011, Efrem returned from Eritrea where he became inspired by the Café culture and returned to Seattle with the desire to venture into coffee. Boon Boona Coffee was launched with the aim of sourcing the highest quality coffee from Africa. In collaboration with coffee farmers across many African nations they look to develop long-lasting relationships and support the sustainability of their crops. Boon Boona Roastery & Café operations are located in Downtown Renton and Central District. Efrem won the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Washington Small Business Person of the Year award for 2022 and most recently was named 2022 Pacific Northwest Small Business Person of the Year.
Featured Speakers
Past Events
Advancing Racial Equity with LaTosha Brown
LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter joined us for an inspirational presentation about advocacy, voting rights and how we can all take action towards a just and equitable nation.
Read more about this event.
A Conversation with Clint Smith
We welcomed New York Times best selling writer, educator, and poet, Clint Smith to our (virtual) community for a conversation about racial equity and his book How the Word is Passed.
Read more about this event.
The Black Community Building Collective Panel
Black leaders know their communities best. Hear from three members of the Collective in this panel discussion: Sean Goode of Choose180, Regina Elmi of Supporting Parnerships in Education and Beyond and Marshaun Barber of Reclaiming our Greatness. Read more about this event.
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Thanks to the following companies for investing in racial equity in our community:
