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Meet The Board

We are proud of our growing team and creating a welcoming community for refugee and immigrant women artisans.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Yumiko Damashek

Executive Board Director (2022 - Present), Former Vice President of Cabot Microelectronics

Yumiko Damashek is a Japan native and a seasoned senior executive in the global semiconductor industry with 30 years of senior management experience in US public companies. She is a rare female leader who has broken glass ceilings in the fiercely competitive semiconductor industry. Over the years, Ms. Damashek has lectured on foreign investment strategies, women’s career and leadership development, and has been very active in promoting Diversity and Inclusion initiatives in a corporate setting. She now dedicates herself in addressing the world's social issues through nonprofit organizations while engaging in angel investing and volunteering as a mentor for high school STEM students in the Seattle area. 

Hayden Bixby

Secretary & Treasurer (2019 - Present), Faculty at Edmonds Community College

Hayden Bixby has been a faculty member at Edmonds Community College since 1998 and has served as the International Program Director for Cura Orphanage, in Kenya, since 2006. She is thrilled to be contributing to the work of RAI as it responds creatively to the needs of refugee women in the US.

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Brittany Mehl

Secretary & Treasurer (2019 - Present),Business Development Director, Mentor Creative Group

Brittany Mehl works for Mentor Creative Group, a digital creative agency in Seattle that designs, builds, brands, and markets products. She is passionate about RAI’s innovative model to transform the lives of refugee and immigrant women. She is looking forward to helping share the impact stories of the organization along with developing community partnerships.

Akiko Eisner-Waters

Operations & Marketing (2019 - Present), Founder and Creative Director of CURA Co. 

Akiko Waters is the founder and creative director of the CURA CO., a socially conscious lifestyle brand specializing in ethically-sourced, female forward art, home and apparel products. Besides the clear synergy between the mission of Akiko's brand and the work of RAI, it is also the facts of Akiko's own childhood that fuels the passion for working with immigrant women. As the child of a Japanese single mother Akiko understands first hand the struggle immigrants face, especially mothers.

Thao (Tracy) Thi Ngoc Ho

Artisan Representative, 2022 to present

Tracy is from Vietnam and a family of sewers. She has been in America for over four years. She is waiting to have her teen age daughter to join her and her husband. Tracy likes to sew and made her first paycheck in America through RAI. She is motivated to take on more sewing projects and also wants to improve her English.

Heather Bridges

Finance & Development, Founder and CEO of Reverb

Bharathi Jagadeesh ​

Community Member (2022 to present)

Bharathi immigrated to the United States from India as a child and grew up in the Midwest. She feels she benefited from the land of opportunity that America can be at its best, going to college, earning a PhD, and running a lab studying visual cognition. Now, Bharathi is committed to paying these opportunities forward through RAI’s goal of providing a place for immigrant women to thrive and grow.

Leang Chung

Human Resources (2022 to present), Founder and CEO of Pelora Stack

KEY ADVISORS & CONTRIBUTORS

Donna Verretto, Non-Profit Advisor - President of DV Consulting for independent nonprofit consulting. Donna has had over 20 years experience in running non-profit organizations.

Camille Steen, Operations Advisor - Camille Steen has worked in the apparel industry in a variety of roles. She is an Adjunct Professor at Seattle Pacific University. Currently, she is the Product Engineer Lead at ExOfficio LLC, and is co-author of the popular Fairchild textbook “Technical Sourcebook for Designers.”

Steve Hill, Board Development Advisor - Steve is an effective business and community leader with extensive human resources and organizational effectiveness experience in both the private and public sectors. A non-profit guru, Steve dedicates his time to coaching RAI on how to effectively lead and grow as a company..

JOIN THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board seeks to have a cadre of members with diverse backgrounds. RAI values varied perspectives, life experiences, and differences. We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, people of all ages, and veterans.

First and foremost, we are seeking individuals who care deeply about refugee and immigrant women advocacy. Experience in governance on other boards is important. Skill sets in law, human rights, diversity, equity & inclusion, government affairs, sustainability and fundraising are desirable. 

If you or a friend or colleague are interested in being considered for this strategic board, please indicate your interest to:

Carmen Brenner, Director of Development: carmen@refugeesarts.org

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