Eddie Moreno (center) at Shaping the Future: North Central Washington in Wenatchee. Photo: Kariba Jack
Eddie Moreno has powers the rest of us at Inatai can’t comprehend. He’s been called a magician, a sorcerer, and a wizard for how he makes things happen. Eddie has been the Special Assistant to the President & CEO since 2020 and has led many initiatives, from community visits to grantmaking under the President’s Fund. We are lucky to call Eddie a colleague and in celebration, we asked him five prompts to celebrate his five-year anniversary.
1. Where is your favorite place in Washington?
Since 2020, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting 35 of 39 counties in Washington and not to sound like a generic pageant contestant but every bit of Washington I’ve had the pleasure of spending time in is uniquely wonderful. However, there is one place that is extra special for a number of reasons—be it food, people, scenery, history, relaxation—but mainly because it is where I was recently engaged to my partner Nick: Tokeland in Pacific County.
2. Which Inatai value resonates with you the most?
The Seven Generation Principle resonates the most with me. As a child, I lived with five generations of Araiza women influencing every core memory of my upbringing. Their stories and life lessons continue to live on and shape who I am today. I know that if that is the case for me, there must also be millions of Washingtonians who also remember and honor their ancestors by living out their teachings with their everyday actions. And as I meet with community leaders across Washington, I know that our combined stories and learnings will shape the future of Washington.
3. What is an important lesson you learned over the last five years?
Continue to make time and space to recognize and appreciate and show gratitude to the people who help you. No matter how large or small the action is, we often get too busy or easily distracted by the day-to-day, but picking up the phone, writing a card or email, or appreciating someone in the moment is contagious and something we don’t do enough of as a community practice.
4. What do you think makes Inatai different from other organizations you’ve been part of?
Our approach and commitment to geographic equity, to embody what it means to be a truly statewide organization. People who follow our work may have read the powerful stories of the many leaders we’ve met from every corner of our state, but what might have been overlooked is how committed we are to finding team members, which includes Board and staff, from every region. Each person continues to shape our evolving culture and keep us accountable to this commitment—and I am grateful for every opportunity I get to learn with our Inatai team about the places they call home.
5. Finish this sentence: The best view in Washington is….
picnicking on Second Beach in La Push (probably going to be cold and windy) overlooking the Crying Lady Rock in the Pacific Ocean.
