Our People
Eastside For All is comprised of people with the racial identities, cultures, lived experiences, and deep community connections required to reimagine, act, and lead.
Staff Team
Angelica Gonzalez Graham (she/they)
Community Response OrganizerPrior to joining Eastside For All, Angelica served the multiracial and multicultural communities at Western Washington University’s Ethnic Student Center. They also served as the Co-Chair of the Black LGBTQ+ Thriving Collective and Vice President of the Black Womxn Revolutionary Group. Angelica worked collaboratively to organize and facilitate events to create a stronger sense of belonging for Black, brown, indigenous, and immigrant students. They served as a representative on various committees and as an advocate for students through providing hate and bias reporting support.
Angelica is a Black and Mexican Queer Womxn from Walla Walla, Washington. They value healing as a collective community as well as intrapersonal connection. As our Community Response Organizer their objective is to implement a stronger sense of safety and belonging through advocating for equitable public safety in East King County.
Angelica holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services. With a strong passion for advocacy and community connection Angelica strives to create safe spaces for unity, growth, and empowerment.
Email | office/cell: 425-247-1118
Chelsea Lee (she/her)
Equitable Development CoordinatorChelsea was born in Busan, South Korea and adopted when she was 10 weeks old by a Midwestern woman of German and Scandinavian heritage. She vividly remembers being given a globe when she was very young, which she used to identify her birthplace, and noted its coastal location. As someone who was raised, educated, and employed in predominantly white spaces in the American Midwest, she often felt physically, socially, and culturally isolated and displaced. However, she has always felt a profound connection to the sea. Eventually, she made her way to Seattle, where she discovered a talent for cold water marathon swimming and passions for marine conservation and social justice–endeavors that require determination and a strong sense of community. She is now a member of the Northwest Open Water Swimming Association, and a volunteer for Seattle Aquarium and Whale Scout.
Chelsea has several years of experience in long-range and current planning in Washington state. She holds a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Washington and a B.S. in Art from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Chelsea wrote her master’s thesis on the underlying racist structure of urban planning, the ways that many community engagement practices perpetuate systemic oppression through long-range planning policies, and the importance of collaboration and co-creation between decision-makers and community-based organizations to reform those policies. Her experiences as a queer, neurodivergent, transracial adoptee provide unique perspectives on the concepts of identity, culture, and community within the built and natural environments. She is eager to promote belonging, inclusion, and representation in all the places where decisions are being made.
Email | Phone: 425-541-2747
Chelsea Lee (she/her)
Equitable Development CoordinatorChelsea was born in Busan, South Korea and adopted when she was 10 weeks old by a Midwestern woman of German and Scandinavian heritage. She vividly remembers being given a globe when she was very young, which she used to identify her birthplace, and noted its coastal location. As someone who was raised, educated, and employed in predominantly white spaces in the American Midwest, she often felt physically, socially, and culturally isolated and displaced. However, she has always felt a profound connection to the sea. Eventually, she made her way to Seattle, where she discovered a talent for cold water marathon swimming and passions for marine conservation and social justice–endeavors that require determination and a strong sense of community. She is now a member of the Northwest Open Water Swimming Association, and a volunteer for Seattle Aquarium and Whale Scout.
Chelsea has several years of experience in long-range and current planning in Washington state. She holds a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Washington and a B.S. in Art from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Chelsea wrote her master’s thesis on the underlying racist structure of urban planning, the ways that many community engagement practices perpetuate systemic oppression through long-range planning policies, and the importance of collaboration and co-creation between decision-makers and community-based organizations to reform those policies. Her experiences as a queer, neurodivergent, transracial adoptee provide unique perspectives on the concepts of identity, culture, and community within the built and natural environments. She is eager to promote belonging, inclusion, and representation in all the places where decisions are being made.
Email | Phone: 425-541-2747
Debbie Lacy (she/her)
Founder & Executive DirectorIn 2002, Debbie co-founded the Eastside Refugee and Immigrant Coalition (ERIC), a grassroots effort that focused on making the East King County region more responsive to the needs of its multicultural, multiethnic and multi-faith communities. Seeking a way to address systemic racism and transform institutional cultures in East King County, Debbie founded Eastside for All in 2019.
Debbie has more than 25 years of experience that includes clinical social work, nonprofit management, community organizing and engagement, intercultural competency, group facilitation, coalition building and organizational leadership in equity efforts.
Debbie has a mixed ethnic background and is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Wellesley College and a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Maryland.
Email | office/cell: 425-209-0895
Artis Nelson (he/him)
Lead Communications ConsultantArtis Nelson is a versatile communications specialist with a rich background in ministry, media production, marketing, and community engagement. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, he has spent over a decade shaping compelling narratives across various platforms.
Starting his career in ministry, he developed strong interpersonal skills and a deep understanding of community dynamics. His experience spans across creating audio and video commercials for businesses, crafting engaging content for digital platforms, and producing television shows that inspire and entertain.
Community engagement is at the heart of Artis’ work. He believes in the power of media to foster connections and create positive change within communities. Whether through organizing events, partnering with local organizations, or leveraging digital platforms for social good, he is committed to making a meaningful impact wherever he goes.
Artis Nelson (he/him)
Lead Communications ConsultantArtis Nelson is a versatile communications specialist with a rich background in ministry, media production, marketing, and community engagement. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, he has spent over a decade shaping compelling narratives across various platforms.
Starting his career in ministry, he developed strong interpersonal skills and a deep understanding of community dynamics. His experience spans across creating audio and video commercials for businesses, crafting engaging content for digital platforms, and producing television shows that inspire and entertain.
Community engagement is at the heart of Artis’ work. He believes in the power of media to foster connections and create positive change within communities. Whether through organizing events, partnering with local organizations, or leveraging digital platforms for social good, he is committed to making a meaningful impact wherever he goes.
Guillermo Rivera (he/him/él)
Housing Justice OrganizerAfter moving to Seattle in 2004 from Mexico City, Guillermo knew he wanted to make a difference in the day-to-day lives of people in the community. As an immigrant, he experienced first-hand the problems that stem from not having Equity and Inclusion in our society and diversity at all levels of our organizations and companies.
Over the past 16 years as an Organizer, he honed the skills to inspire, support and manage very diverse groups of people and complex organizing projects and campaigns. In 2009, he organized Janitors and Gas Station workers in Mexico City. In 2013, he worked with and managed a team that helped to pass $15 minimum wage in SeaTac, WA.
Guillermo is passionate about Social Justice; he served on different Boards of Directors from a variety of organizations like One America Votes, Fair Work Center and Working WA.
Email | office/cell: 425-209-0707
2024 Board Members
We are building our leadership team to reflect the lived experiences, wisdom, and skills required to advance our mission. Learn more about current board openings.
Contact us about opportunities to join the Board
We look forward to connecting with you.
Jackie Bui (she/her)
Jackie Bui has been working with the non-profit sector for 20+ years. At Youth Eastside Services (YES), she has provided various services such as basic needs, clinical counseling, community outreach and engagement, parenting classes, youth support and life-skills groups, and advocacy for individuals, families, and communities by removing gaps and barriers to access services. Currently, she is the Chief Operating Officer at YES. She has extensive training in evident-based practices such as in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Promoting First Relationship (PFR), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy(PCIT), and is qualified in crisis and suicide risk assessment and intervention. She is a certified Child Mental Health Specialist (CMHS) and Ethnic Minority Mental Health Specialist (EEMHS) for Latino and Asian Pacific Islander populations.
Jackie earned her Master‘s degree in Social Work from the University of Washington, where she concentrated in Children, Youth and Families. She is bicultural and bi-lingual in Vietnamese. She believes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are active processes required to ensure all voices can be heard through active listening, respect, compassion, open-mindedness, and no judgment.
Yuriana Garcia Tellez (she/her)
Yuriana Garcia Tellez is an undocumented professional, originally from Mexico. She grew up in the State of Washington in a small, agricultural town and later attended the University of Washington, graduating in Human-Centered Design & Engineering.
She first got involved with social and immigrant justice when she saw a lack of resources and support for undocumented students in the education system and professional pipelines. She started Beyond HB 1079 in 2012, the first conference in WA to support undocumented students and their families, as well as K-12 and higher education professionals. Yuriana spearheaded efforts at the University of Washington and Rutgers University to increase the success of undocumented, immigrant, and first-generation students.
In her previous position with the City of Bellevue, Yuriana served as a conduit to engage diverse communities, manage relationships with community-based organizations, and support efforts to provide culturally competent programs and events. Now transitioning to the field of entertainment, Yuriana hopes to combine her background in engineering and experience in social and racial justice and the power of storytelling to increase support and access for Black, Indigenous, and people of color at Netflix.
Yuriana Garcia Tellez (she/her)
Yuriana Garcia Tellez is an undocumented professional, originally from Mexico. She grew up in the State of Washington in a small, agricultural town and later attended the University of Washington, graduating in Human-Centered Design & Engineering.
She first got involved with social and immigrant justice when she saw a lack of resources and support for undocumented students in the education system and professional pipelines. She started Beyond HB 1079 in 2012, the first conference in WA to support undocumented students and their families, as well as K-12 and higher education professionals. Yuriana spearheaded efforts at the University of Washington and Rutgers University to increase the success of undocumented, immigrant, and first-generation students.
In her previous position with the City of Bellevue, Yuriana served as a conduit to engage diverse communities, manage relationships with community-based organizations, and support efforts to provide culturally competent programs and events. Now transitioning to the field of entertainment, Yuriana hopes to combine her background in engineering and experience in social and racial justice and the power of storytelling to increase support and access for Black, Indigenous, and people of color at Netflix.
Scarleth Lever Ortiz
Scarleth is a certified diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) professional, racial equity practitioner and a seasoned housing policy expert. Scarleth spearheaded transformative initiatives in some of the nation’s largest housing authorities. As the inaugural Senior VP of DEI at the King County Housing Authority, Scarleth played a pivotal role in advancing equitable practices. Prior to her tenure in King County, she served as the founding director of the Office of DEI at the Chicago Housing Authority, where she established programs and activities aimed at enhancing cultural competency, collaboration, and access, especially for underrepresented populations. Her diverse background includes serving as an Aldermanic Aide and Director of Legislative Affairs for the City of Chicago 1st Ward Alderman, where she honed her skills in community engagement and policy development.
Scarleth is committed to support Eastside For All to promote inclusivity, accessibility and advance equitable practices aimed to eliminate discrimination in all its forms.
Scarleth holds a master’s degree in urban planning and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, as well as a bachelor’s degree in global studies from the University of Minnesota. She is currently participating in the Adaptive Community Leadership Program at Leadership Eastside and has been a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow since 2018. Scarleth is a first-generation immigrant from Mexico City, and brings additional insights from her time living many other cities including Minneapolis, Paris, Las Vegas, Chicago, and now the Seattle metropolitan area.
Sapan Parekh (he/him)
Sapan Parekh (he/him) works as the Racial Equity Advisor for Seattle Public Utilities. As part of SPU’s Environmental Justice and Service Equity team, Sapan provides impactful racial equity training and learning experiences, meaningfully engages with community perspectives, and ensures that racial equity is centered in decision-making. Sapan previously worked at Bellevue College for seven years, managing a program to connect education to the community and foster a culture of civic action. He is a graduate of the statewide Social Justice Leadership Institute and the Bellevue Essentials program, and was an active member of the City’s Bellevue Diversity Advisory Network. He was previously a member of the Eastside Culture Coalition and the Bellevue Nourishing Network.
Sapan grew up in the Eastside. In 2008 he moved to India to help start a nonprofit, and during his nearly eight years there, he worked on ventures focused on slum education, rural solar, livelihood development, social sector internships, and more. Each project required intentional and meaningful community engagement, flexibility and an entrepreneurial mindset, and cultural humility and a focus on inclusivity. Sapan is excited to see how the Eastside has changed since he was a youth needing to travel to Vancouver BC for Indian groceries. He is also excited about organizations like Eastside For All, working towards equitable opportunities and access for all who reside here.
Sapan Parekh (he/him)
Sapan Parekh (he/him) works as the Racial Equity Advisor for Seattle Public Utilities. As part of SPU’s Environmental Justice and Service Equity team, Sapan provides impactful racial equity training and learning experiences, meaningfully engages with community perspectives, and ensures that racial equity is centered in decision-making. Sapan previously worked at Bellevue College for seven years, managing a program to connect education to the community and foster a culture of civic action. He is a graduate of the statewide Social Justice Leadership Institute and the Bellevue Essentials program, and was an active member of the City’s Bellevue Diversity Advisory Network. He was previously a member of the Eastside Culture Coalition and the Bellevue Nourishing Network.
Sapan grew up in the Eastside. In 2008 he moved to India to help start a nonprofit, and during his nearly eight years there, he worked on ventures focused on slum education, rural solar, livelihood development, social sector internships, and more. Each project required intentional and meaningful community engagement, flexibility and an entrepreneurial mindset, and cultural humility and a focus on inclusivity. Sapan is excited to see how the Eastside has changed since he was a youth needing to travel to Vancouver BC for Indian groceries. He is also excited about organizations like Eastside For All, working towards equitable opportunities and access for all who reside here.
Heather Siegel (she/her)
Heather has been working in the not-for-profit sector for 20 years all across the country. She has worked with youth at outdoor centers, led expedition trips in the High Sierras and Joshua Tree, as well as water-based trips in the Adirondacks. Over the years working with the YMCA, Heather has been involved with diversity and inclusion work by becoming a trainer for the YMCA in this field. For years she has worked other YMCA professionals to create spaces that challenge the way diversity, inclusion and equity are presented within YMCAs, as well as finding more ways to operationalize these practices.
Most recently Heather was the Executive Director with the Bellevue Family YMCA where she engaged with partnerships with other Eastside community-based organizations. Her goal has been to support more community-based organizations on the Eastside and create a welcoming space for more BIPOC communities.
Heather is a transracial adoptee from S. Korea and grew up with her parents in the greater Los Angeles region. She holds a Degree in Sociology with a Religious Studies Minor from the University of California, Riverside, along with a Masters in Recreation Administration from California State University, Long Beach.
