Myle poses on horseback alongside fellow Inatai teammates at a staff retreat in the Methow Valley.
Myle Tang (she/her) loves to tell stories—as long as they are authentic and true. “I’m Native, so we’re storytellers,” she says. “It’s a story even when it’s not a story.”
For Myle, her story starts in Tacoma, Washington, where she was born and raised. While in foster care, Myle says she experienced a system that didn’t allow young people to thrive.
“Once you turn 18, you get a phone call, and you’re done with care,” she shares. After navigating that freefall, which included housing instability and working odd jobs to make ends meet, she enrolled at the University of Washington, where a professor recommended that she apply for an internship with the Washington State Legislature. This seemed like a natural path for Myle who, throughout her life, was used to navigating institutions. With only three days to put an application together, she met the deadline just in time.
Myle gleefully blows bubbles at Tacoma Pride in 2022.
As a legislative aide, Myle was determined to change the story for other young people like her. Her focuses were foster care and homelessness legislation like Extended Foster Care, which requires mental health services be involved when a child is prescribed psychotropic medications, and the Homeless Students Stability Program, which offers housing vouchers to families with student-age children. This work was especially important to Myle, who once lived just down the street from McCarver Elementary, a Tacoma school that took part in the program. Tacoma recently surpassed Seattle as having the most unhoused students in the state.
She later worked at the Washington Office of Homeless Youth, where she was grateful for the opportunity to draw from her lived experience of the foster care system. While there, she designed and participated in a listening tour that connected her with young people statewide. The experience was an important one for her to be able to hear directly from people impacted by the system.
In her new role with Inatai Foundation, Myle will help build out and advance the foundation’s policy strategy in support of communities throughout Washington. She’s most excited about uplifting and connecting with people and communities in real and honest ways.
Myle in South Dakota.
“It was really difficult to have people take my experience and use it for good intentions, but it wasn’t my voice,” she shares. “And it made me question for a while, ‘Is this my story?’”
Now, Myle feels more empowered than ever to own her story, inject her witty humor, and cherish every part of who she is. Myle belongs to many communities and enjoys attending Indigenous ceremonies, visiting art and history museums, and hiking. Also, for anyone fortunate enough to ask Myle about her beloved truck, they’re in for a riveting tale or two.
“It’s been through a lot,” says Myle. “All three doors are different shades of blue. The tailgate door requires you to do four different steps before it opens. The driver seat originally came with one screw that goes into the floor but now has two for safety reasons.” There’s more to the story, but to hear it, you’ll just have to meet her.
