Commissioners

Leiyomi Preciado (She/They) is a proud transwoman of Filipino, Mexican, and Indigenous American ancestry. Leiyomi is originally from Orange County, California and has called Bremerton and the Kitsap Peninsula home for the past decade. She works as a Certified Peer Counselor who provides services to adults who experience mental health and/or substance use. She empowers people to utilize their voice to self-advocate and influence decision makers in focusing on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion as part of the solution and law implementation. 

Leiyomi has worked in collaboration and partnership with the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Washington Recovery Coalition, Washington Community Connectors, and the Washington State Society of Clinical Social Work to help dismantle stigma and increase understanding and awareness on how combat homelessness and help educate service providers on transgender history and healthcare. She has been a part of various boards and committees like Disability Rights Washington Mental Health Advisory Committee, Office of Recovery Partnership Advisory Committee, the Bremerton Race Equity Advisory Committee and more. Leiyomi was also the first openly trans person to run for public office in Kitsap County for County Commissioner.

Darlin was born in Cuba and immigrated to Miami, Fl where they were raised on café con leche, community care, and so many pastelitos by a single mother and a brigade of tias who made sure to inculcate a strong sense of justice and curiosity in them. Darlin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights and Visual Arts from the University of Dayton, Ohio. Darlin’s lineage and ancestors are Chinese, Indigenous and Arab as a result of forced labor migration and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. A common kaleidoscope of identities that many hold across Latinidad. Darlin is queer and non-binary and from this place they reimagine what it means to be Caribbean.

Darlin is deeply invested in creating a more equitable healthcare landscape for 2SLGBTQ+ people. They are an undisciplined scholar whose research is concerned with the intersection of social change, identity, queer and trans liberation grounded in anti-racism practices. Darlin has previously enjoyed a variety of nonprofit positions throughout her career in immigration law, program and project management, policy education, while establishing and leading Yoga and Meditation programs within community.

Ms. Amasai Jeke, an Indigenous Fijian feminist activist, advocates for gender equality and LGBTQI rights. With over a decade of experience, she's worked with organizations like Rainbow Pride Foundation Fiji and served on various regional advisory boards and currently serves as the SPEaC Change Program Coordinator for UTOPIA Washington, focusing on climate justice. She's also involved in various regional groups, including the Peer Support Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Fiji and the Asia-Pacific Youth Voices Count, representing LGBTQI voices at national and global levels, including collaborations with the United Nations.

Stephanie Valerdi is a Queer, chronically ill Mexican immigrant with over a decade of experience supporting families through community-based work rooted in equity, accessibility, and trauma-informed care. With a background in mental health and early childhood development, Stephanie offers bilingual, culturally aligned peer support to parents and individuals within the Latinx and LGBTQIA+ community. She currently facilitates parent groups at PEPS and has provided peer support through Perinatal Support Washington and Qlaw Foundation. In her peer work Stephanie uplifts those most impacted by systemic barriers and works to expand access to Spanish-language mental health and community resources.

Stephanie’s work is deeply informed by her lived experience as a survivor of gender-based violence and her ongoing commitment to QTBIPOC communities. She brings empathy and authenticity to her one-on-one support with parents and survivors, helping them navigate complex systems while creating space for healing and connection. Stephanie also serves as a board member for Somos Seattle, an LGBTQ+ Latinx organization. Outside of her professional life, she’s rooted in family and community care. Stephanie finds joy in time spent with her wife, and child, and in celebrating Queer and Latinx joy through community, nature, drag shows, and everyday moments of resistance and rest.

Nico Archer (he/they) has spent his career leading strategic communications, brand development, digital strategy, and large-scale integrated campaigns across Washington State and beyond. He is a Partner at DH, a social-impact communications agency with offices in Seattle and Spokane, grounded in research, behavioral insight, and equity-centered strategy.

At its core, Nico’s work focuses on dismantling the structural, cultural, and narrative barriers that shape power and the social determinants of health. He works to ensure that people have the information, access, and support they need to be healthy, safe, connected, and able to thrive.

Nico’s portfolio spans public health, education, financial inclusion, philanthropy, economic development, climate and energy transition, transportation, and behavioral health. His clients have included government agencies, tribal nations and organizations, foundations, and mission-driven nonprofits. His expertise includes brand and message architecture, behavior-change communications, digital engagement strategy, community-centered storytelling, and leading complex multi-channel public-information efforts. Across all work, he focuses on expanding access, strengthening trust, and elevating the voices of historically marginalized communities while helping clients align their vision and purpose with their impact and the people they serve.

Nico’s community leadership includes six years on the Board of Directors for Joya Child & Family Development, a Neurodevelopmental Center of Excellence serving children and families with developmental delays and disabilities. His service on the Executive Committee supported governance, strategic planning, and organizational growth. He was recognized by the Journal of Business as a 2023 Rising Star for his leadership in public engagement, purpose-driven communication, and cross-sector collaboration. Beyond formal roles, he supports initiatives advancing education access, gender equity, global citizenship, youth mentorship, and cultural appreciation. For more than 20 years, he has helped lead, plan, and support multiple Pride events and programs that cultivate queer joy, belonging, and community connection.

Nico holds an MA in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and a BA in Health Sciences and Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He and his husband live in Spokane with their three dogs and cat.

Originally from upstate New York, Kawana lived in Portland, Oregon for seven years before settling in Vancouver, Washington in 2021 with their wife. Since 2022, they have served as a Public Involvement Coordinator for the City of Portland, Oregon, and co-lead the Operations and Events Planning Committees for Diverse and Empowered Employees of Portland (DEEP).

Kawana holds a BA in Studio Art (Integrated Media) from Hamilton College and is the recipient of the J. Barney Moore Prize in Art for their work in video art, digital storytelling, and women’s history. Their passion for events planning was solidified while helping to produce the Activist Mobilizing for Power (AMP) Conference, presented by the Western States Center. A former Pride Foundation Fellow, Kawana brings over twenty years of experience in arts and nonprofit management, live events production, public engagement, and government communications. They have produced engaging events for organizations including Broadway Center for the Arts; BUTCH Voices; Center for Diversity & the Environment; House Dance International; Beyond Bold and Brave’s NYC Black Lesbian Conference; Portland Symphonic Choir; POWFEST; and Portland Parks & Recreation’s Summer Free for All program.

Kawana is an active member of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA), and the Project Management Institute (PMI). A lifelong believer in the power of events as catalysts for community building and connection, Kawana is affectionately known by friends and family as “a socially conscious butterfly for change.”

Dr. M. Eliatamby-O’Brien moved to central Washington in 2017, where they are an Associate Professor at Central Washington University, and the Director of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program. Their professional work focuses on identifying and sharing how creative narratives and graphic art works by refugees and forced migrants help capture overlooked experiences within these communities, with a particular focus on transpacific migration. 

They co-direct TransRural Lives, a digital storytelling project focused on the experiences of transgender older adults in rural areas and small towns throughout the Pacific Northwest. Through this work, they help provide opportunities for intergenerational collaborations and community-building between trans people through storytelling. They strive to be active in 2SLGBTQIA+ and arts nonprofit spaces throughout central Washington and beyond. They also sit on the Board of Gallery One Visual Arts Center and Pride Foundation.

Eve Hwang is a Product Manager at Amazon, where she leads technology initiatives for the Community Delivery program—a partnership that has delivered over 60 million meals through more than 40 community organizations since 2020. She brings extensive experience in technology leadership and community impact, having previously served as Director of Technology at Food Lifeline and as a Program Manager at Slalom.

Eve previously served as Chair of the GSBA, Washington’s LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, where she advanced economic opportunity and advocacy for LGBTQ+ businesses and professionals across the state. She lives in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. 

Matt Landers (he/him/his) has been professionally involved in LGBTQ advocacy issues in Washington State for over a decade, including working as Director of Public Policy & Government Relations at GSBA - Washington's LGBTQ+ chamber between 2011 and 2022 and working with campaigns such as Washington United for Marriage (R-74), Raise Up Washington (I-1443), Washington Won't Discriminate (I-1515, I-1552), and the Washington Fairness Campaign (I-1000).

He has degrees in geography from Macalester College and the University of Oregon. Previously he served on the board of Out for Sustainability, volunteered with regional chapters of the LGBTQ Victory Fund and OutRight Action International, and was appointed to serve on the King County Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Task Force and the Seattle Commercial Affordability Advisory Commission. Matt currently works in government relations at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and is a 2023 Marshall Memorial Fellow with the German Marshall Fund. He lives in Seattle with his husband.

Everett Maroon has lived in Walla Walla since 2008, after spending more than a decade in Washington, DC as a systems analyst and project manager. He has served as the executive director of a healthcare-focused nonprofit organization since 2010, and is co-chair of the Greater Columbia Accountable Community of Health’s opioid demonstration project.

He sits on both the finance committee and the behavioral health council for the Walla Walla County Department of Community Health, and is a member of Rotary. Everett attended Syracuse University, graduating with bachelor’s degrees in English and psychology. He and his partner, Dr. Susanne Beechey, are proud parents of two children.

Originally from a suburb of Kansas City, Kansas, Ayanna has called Washington State home for the past four years. She holds a bachelor's degree in Music from Kansas State University and a Master of Science in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University. In her professional career, Ayanna has worked as a social justice leader in Higher Education, specializing in organizational change management, training development, and building inclusive cultures where diverse teams can thrive. Her approach combines empathetic leadership with strategic thinking to create sustainable change. Most recently, Ayanna worked as the Program Manager for LGBTQ+ Western and The Centers for Student Access, Community, and Intercultural Engagement at Western Washington University. 

As a Black lesbian woman, Ayanna brings lived and professional experience to her advocacy work and is passionate about uplifting conversations and experiences that are often pushed to the margins. She is committed to creating spaces where all community members can authentically exist and thrive, particularly focusing on intersections of identity such as race, sexuality, and body politics within LGBTQ+ communities. Ayanna's work centers on building bridges between communities and fostering understanding through inclusive dialogue and systemic change initiatives. Ayanna currently lives in Bellingham, Washington with her wife and their three fur babies.

Omni Romero is a philanthropic professional with over 12 years of experience in grassroots organizing, resource mobilization, and strategic planning. Born to immigrant farmworkers in Warden, Washington, Omni graduated with honors in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and pursued graduate studies at Duke University before returning home to support their community. They live in Richland, WA with their two Mexican Hairless Dogs.
 

As the inaugural Director of Community Advocacy, Research, and Education at Pride Foundation, Omni launched the TRANSform Culture Fellowship (a $15,000 fellowship for BIPOC 2STNBI folks), the Seedlings Webinar Series, and new strategies to strengthen advocacy infrastructure, frontline leadership, and narrative power across the Northwest. Previously, as inaugural Director of Encuentro at the Latino Commission on AIDS, they led HIV health justice work across 16 Southern states, including launching the Encuentro Conference. A native Spanish speaker, Omni has provided gender-inclusive Spanish interpretation, translation, and language justice capacity-building globally since 2016. They currently serve on the Board of Directors for Philanthropy Northwest, Tri-Cities Diversity and Inclusion Council, and Tri-Cities Pride.

Originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Mark lived in Seattle for 43 years, before moving to Walla Walla in 2022 with his two husbands and finding a warm and welcoming community in a beautiful setting in Eastern Washington. Mark had a long career as a small business owner in the beauty industry in Seattle, before moving into nonprofit and fundraising work for the decade before he retired from his last position as Acting CEO & President of GSBA.

He continues to use his passion to raise awareness and funds for nonprofits in the ARTS and in support of youth, by serving on two Boards in Walla Walla and advising others in their fundraising efforts. Him and his husbands built their home to be a gathering place for making connections and showing support for the community and have hosted numerous friend and fundraising events for local organizations and love introducing friends to causes they are passionate about. He is also a potter and loves to express his creative energy through clay. He is proud to be an out and open member of the LGBTQ+ community and a voice in Eastern WA for equality.