BUILDING POWER IN EVERY CORNER OF WASHINGTON
Power is the strength to turn vision into reality. At Inatai, we believe the most important kind of power is community power: The ability for people to achieve a collective purpose and realize a shared vision for a more equitable, racially just future. Introducing Power Builders, a series featuring leaders from all over Washington state whose organizations and communities are planting the seeds for long-term, transformative change.
Connections build powerful communities
Meet Power Builders Sam Lee, Patrick Woo-Ching, and Norma Hernandez. Based in Spokane, Kitsap, and Walla Walla counties, their work is deeply relational and creating strong networks of care. Through these connections they are fortifying their communities to continue leading change.
SAM LEE
Asians for Collective Liberation
“Resistance is everywhere for me because I think of existence as resistance.” Sam Lee – Board Member of Asians for Collective Liberation and Board President of its 501(c)(4), Asians for Collective Action – shares how the work of these organizations is building a political home for Asians in Spokane. Hear Sam share how their work is confronting old narratives about Asian advocacy.
PATRICK WOO-CHING
Voices of Pacific Island Nations
“It doesn’t matter whose kid it is; we want to make sure the child is successful.” Patrick Woo-Ching says his community’s future power bearers are the young people he works with in Bremerton for Voices of the Pacific Island Nations (VOPIN). Learn about their work to bridge stronger relationships between students, schools, families, and their community.
NORMA HERNANDEZ
The Health Center
Access to care is an important step to building power in the Walla Walla Valley, says Norma Hernandez of The Health Center. When young people have access to care that supports their well-being, they and their families are in a better position to thrive. And when families thrive, they can more fully participate in their community. Hear more about Norma’s perspective on why healthcare is a must for community power building.
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ALL STORIES
SAM LEE
Asians for Collective Liberation
Sam Lee shares how the work of their organizations is building a political home for Asians in Spokane.
PATRICK WOO-CHING
Voices of Pacific Island Nations
Patrick Woo-Ching says his community’s future power bearers are the young people he works with in Bremerton.
NORMA HERNANDEZ
The Health Center
Norma Hernandez believes when young people have access to care that supports their well-being, they and their families are in a better position to thrive in the Walla Walla Valley.
KIM RINEHARDT
Mason County HOST Program
Visit with Kim Rinehardt as she shows us around Shelton and what equity and racial justice work looks like for her organization.
JENNYFER MESA
Latinos en Spokane
Sometimes home can be somewhere thousands of miles away or the community you must create yourself. Jennyfer Mesa shares with us what community power-building looks like in Eastern Washington.
PAUL TABAYOYON
APIC-Yakima
In our collective work for racial equity and justice, we cannot forget who fought before us. Paul Tabayoyon connects Filipino history in the Yakima Valley to the work his organization is doing there today.