At SJF’s 2020 Member Meeting in August we were excited to vote in four new board members! Here are their profiles so that you can get to know them:

Aaron Oravillo

Aaron was raised between Seattle and the Bay Area in California. He currently works at Nia Tero, a nonprofit with the mission of “Securing Indigenous guardianship of vital ecosystems.” Aaron is passionate about the community organizations that center on immigration, gender, race & equity, and environmental justice. Aaron participated in SJF’s Immigrant Justice giving project in 2017 and the experience changed his entire perspective on life.

Carolanne Sanders

Carolanne split her time between Dallas and Nashville before making her way to the Pacific NW, where she pursued a graduate degree in public health. In 2018 she participated in SJF’s first-ever Black Led Organizing Giving Project, an experience that completely reshaped her understanding of collective power and justice work. Carolanne currently works as the Jail Diversion Coordinator for King County’s Department of Community and Human Services.

Maria Hernandez

Maria was born and raised in La Cruz De Aguilar, Romita Guanajuato. She is a proud daughter of immigrants and former farmworkers. Maria migrated to Oregon with her family, and has since considered Woodburn her second home. Maria worked at SJF grantee OPAL as the Policy and Advocacy Manager and currently works as the Community Engagement Specialist at Portland Public Schools’ Office of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement.

Yen Baynes

Yen has been an organizer and a Spanish Interpreter in Seattle and the broader King County area since she moved to the Northwest in 2001. As a queer, AfroVenezuelan first generation immigrant, her focus has been on shifting power dynamics between people with limited English proficiency and the health and social systems they navigate. Yen was also a member of SJF’s Rural and Small Town Grants Giving Project in 2019.